News Blog
Jan Shriner's Jedi Move at Marina Coast
November 14, 2012
Turn to page 14, item 32, of Marina Coast Water District's 55-page Board Procedures Manual, and you'll see that bringing an item back to the board for reconsideration requires voting on the winning side.
Board member Jan Shriner, who's grown accustomed to standing alone in a great many 4-1 votes, read up on the manual and voted last night in favor of three items she's actually not in favor of—just so that she can bring them back for reconsideration.
With Shriner's ambivalent vote, the board voted 4-0 Tuesday to extend General Manager Jim Heitzman's contract through July 2014; approve a water assessment of the proposed Monterey Downs development on the former Fort Ord, claiming the project will require 852 acre-feet of water annually; and allow customers to transfer water and sewer capacity credit between different properties.
Shriner explained her affirmative votes as purely to support her efforts to bring the items back to the board for reconsideration. "People have criticized me for revealing too much, but my intention is to be as transparent as possible," she says. "I’m not trying to use the system against anyone. I’m trying to clarify the process."
Shriner's concern with extending Heitzman's contract is that his most recent performance review is six months old and should be updated. Heitzman indicated his intention to leave Marina Coast earlier this year. He was not immediately available for comment Wednesday morning.
The board's next scheduled meeting, Dec. 11, is widely expected to bring a sea change to the persistent 4-1 voting lines. Newly elected board members Tom Moore and Peter Le may side with Shriner on issues she's been in the minority on.
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