West Valley Water District Adopts New Contract Management and Surplus Goods Policy

West Valley Water District Adopts New Contract Management and Surplus Goods Policy

RIALTO, CA -- In line with its commitment to improve transparency and accountability by implementing best practices across the board, West Valley Water District's (WVWD) Board of Directors enacted a new contract management policy to further ensure the appropriate monitoring and selection of contracts. The board also adopted a surplus goods policy, that will allow the water district to raise funds from the sale of unneeded goods to generate additional value for ratepayers.

“This contract management policy is just one of many reforms that the finance committee has undertaken to deliver a transparent and accountable water district that is responsive to ratepayers and the public,” said Channing Hawkins, President of the WVWD Board of Directors. “I'm proud of the great progress that this board has made and look forward to working with my fellow board members to transform West Valley Water District into a model special district. I'm confident these forward-looking reforms will contribute greatly to WVWD’s transparency and success.”

Vice President Kyle Crowther said, "There's no question that these common-sense reforms put ratepayers first. This is a significant step forward in ensuring our contracts continue to deliver on the value and results that our ratepayers deserve.”

 The new contract management and the surplus goods policies create another layer of accountability for ratepayers and strengthen WVWD’s ability to provide the greatest possible value for ratepayer-funded expenses and investments. The Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF), an independent, non-profit organization formed to promote good governance and best practices among California’s special districts, recommends that agencies explicitly state and adopt formal contract management policies to maximize accountability and returns for ratepayers. WVWD’s new contract management policy formalizes the roles and responsibilities of staff members and managers at each stage of the contract cycle and also requires that the purchasing department monitor and provide quarterly reports for each contract. 

In addition to the new contract management policy, WVWD's Board of Directors also adopted a surplus goods policy, that allows WVWD to auction off surplus, unused or no longer needed equipment. While there are no revenue estimates for this provision, the minimum sale value of each asset will be approved by the board to ensure that WVWD recovers the appropriate amount from each sale.

Early in 2020, WVWD conducted a major public review of all ongoing contracts. Since then, it has also implemented 10 major reforms to improve the transparency, accountability and sustainability of internal processes. From implementing financial reporting guidelines to digitizing essential records to ensure easy internal and public access, WVWD has improved many of its operations and management. Late last year, many of these improvements earned WVWD the SDLF District Transparency Certificate of Excellence, which recognizes special districts for outstanding efforts to promote transparency and good governance.

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The West Valley Water District has proudly served the communities of Bloomington, Colton, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, and Jurupa Valley since 1952. Through name changes and consolidation, the mission has always remained the same: to provide customers with safe, high quality, and reliable water service at a reasonable rate and in a sustainable manner. The District provides water for 83,000 customers and is overseen by a five-member, publicly-elected Board of Directors.