OPUD board member abruptly quits

Olivehurst Public Utility District Director Brenda Peeples quit Tuesday, saying the behavior of other board members and lack of customer-friendly relations from staff forced her to concede she can't do her job.

Peeples, 61, cited her health as a partial reason for stepping down, saying stress from frustrations as a board member caused her blood pressure to spike dangerously high.

"The communication is not there, the transparency is not there," said Peeples, a Plumas Lake resident and retired budget analyst for the state Franchise Tax Board, who was elected to a four-year term in November 2008. "It's just not important to those folks, it seems."

Peeples said several instances during her year-long stint on the board disillusioned her about the job. Those included:

• Numerous complaints she received from ratepayers who said the district was unresponsive or punitive on issues with their bills.

• Rate hikes for ratepayers without considering district cutbacks to save money. n Flaws in how the board dealt with a recommendation by an outside auditor to hire a forensic accountant to clean up sloppy bookkeeping.

As well, she said, three other board members told her during public meetings she wasn't doing her job correctly when she tried to answer her constituents' questions and concerns.

"I'm getting out because I can't make a difference," Peeples said. "These people have no problem belittling someone in public."

Of the remaining four board members, she said only Ron Dougherty — like her, a Plumas Lake resident elected to the board in November 2008 on a platform of improving OPUD's customer service — is willing to push the district to be more flexible and open.

OPUD General Manager Tim Shaw disagreed with Peeples' complaints, saying he thought the board was very responsive to constituents, citing the controversy over park land in Wheeler Ranch last year as an example.

"One of the things I'm most proud of is our accessibility to the public," Shaw said. "You can talk to this board."

Peeples' complaint over being told how to do her job, Shaw said, lacks the context of how she asked OPUD staff to respond to each and every ratepayer complaint or comment she received.

Doing so takes staff time and resources away from doing their jobs, Shaw said.

Peeples also said she thought board President Michael Morrison was too quick to cut off public comment during meetings.

Shaw said while he didn't think that happened, it was possible Morrison did so out of a need to move a meeting along rather than continually hear the same complaint from several different people.

"It takes five people to comprise a board, and when you have five people, it takes at least three to make a change," Shaw said.

Morrison and Director Larry Patty did not return calls for comment. There was no phone listing for Director Catherine Hollis.

Dougherty said he was stunned to hear of Peeples' resignation.

"I know there was concern about her health, and that was a paramount concern," he said. "I think she was affected by some of the rancor on the board."

Shaw said he believed disagreements among board members were no more emotional or common than those he'd seen on boards for other public agencies.

Many of Peeples' concerns about the district's customer service were ones Dougherty shared, and he said he'd acknowledge they haven't improved since he and Peeples got onto the board.

The board will discuss how to fill Peeples' seat at its Feb. 18 meeting, Shaw said.

The board has 60 days to fill the seat. Shaw and Peeples said they believed the board would use an appointment process to do so.

The appointee would have to stand for re-election in November for the remaining two years of Peeples' term.

Peeples said she hopes OPUD ratepayers get involved in the process.

"I would like to feel there are younger people out there who are willing to go head to head with these folks," she said. "They don't want to look at anything new."

Dougherty said he hopes the new director represents Plumas Lake. Noting Peeples received more votes than any other OPUD board candidate in 2008, he said, it's obvious people wanted her representation.

"It's really up to the ratepayers what we do, because there's a process, and I hope it's transparent," he said.