The Morongo Valley Community Services District Board of Directors held their regular meeting last night in Covington Park’s multipurpose room.
Aiming to update the CSD’s financial practices policy, Finance Director Johnny Tolbert and Fire Commissioner Lance Fisher agreed to form an Ad Hoc Committee between the two of them.
Reviewing next steps for hiring a new general manager took up to an hour of the meeting’s time. Proving controversial, various concerns were raised about the budget for a new general manager, including questioning whether the salary offered would attract the right person for the job, fluctuating hours with possibility of overtime, whether the salary would upset the Firefighters—many who are still making minimum wage—all while the majority of the board and attendees questioned the decision to proceed hiring a new general manager when Fire Chief and General Manager James Brakebill is “doing an excellent job” straddling both duties. President Gorke insisted on staying on course discussing hiring, reminding the Board Brakebill taking over as General Manager was only supposed to be temporary. But various attendees, including members of the Fire Department, suggested personnel would be tempted to quit if this decision was pushed through, especially with their current inequitable wages in contrast to what a new GM would be earning. President Gorke called for a special meeting on Tuesday, November 21st, to discuss further.
Because it was skipped in 2022, the Chuck Osborne Volunteer of the Year Award is being resumed for 2023. Board members discussed setting more concrete criteria for Morongo Valley’s Good Samaritan nod and hope to have details for voting by Tuesday’s special meeting.
Bids for the CSD office reconstruction were looked over, with a plan that includes building a locked cabinet room, an extended bathroom for ADA compliance, and turning the second bathroom into an IT closet. The decision on a bid was tabled for Tuesday’s meeting, as well as the bid for mold remediation in the Fire Department’s bunk room; Board members agreed that fixing the roof held precedent over the mold removal with more rain on the horizon this winter.
