The Imperial Irrigation District’s Board of Directors continues its scrutiny of its legal department at today’s public meeting when it hears an update on the cost of its water department’s outside counsel.
The update will be a review of costs incurred by the district in 2012 in regard to outside counsel’s work with the water department, said General Manager Kevin Kelley.
The IID’s use of outside counsel is not without controversy. Critics have accused the district of relying excessively on outside counsel.
Earlier this month the Board of Directors changed a governance policy to make the Board of Directors the client on all legal matters, rather than the IID itself. The Board also rescinded or called for review the conflict-of-interest waivers for two of its outside attorneys and rescinded a letter of engagement for another outside attorney.
The update was originally scheduled for the Jan. 8 Board of Directors meeting, but was rescheduled to accommodate Assistant Counsel Joanna Smith and Director Bruce Kuhn, both of whom were unable to attend the meeting.
The Board of Directors will also hear a discussion about the effectiveness of electric gates on IID water infrastructure. The district’s System Conservation Program would call for the installation of electric canal gates and water measurement devices as part of an ambitious plan to conserve water in order to meet water transfer obligations under the Quantification Settlement Agreement, and to pay back its overrun of Colorado River water.
If you go
What — Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors meeting
Where — W.R. Condit Auditorium, 1285 Broadway Ave., El Centro
When — 1 p.m. today
Staff Writer Antoine Abou-Diwan can be reached at 760-337-3454 or aabou-diwan@ivpressonline.com
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