Draft Governance Structure

For Implementation of the Kern CountyIRWMP

Offered by the Governance Subcommittee

June 23, 2009

Considerations

During the Stakeholder meeting on June 3rd, members of the Stakeholder Group were asked to consider the governance structure that will be needed to sustain the Kern IRWMP in the years following the completion and approval of the IRWMP. The following summary captures the suggestions from that meeting within the context of the existing governance structure provided for in the Participation Agreement. The Participants and Executive Committee will use this dialogue to continue discussions about whether a more formal structure would be beneficial for implementation of the IRWM Plan over the long term.

Potential Governance Structure

The Governance Structuremost easily can be continued through an amended or new Participation Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Regional Water Management Group (RWMG). That Agreement established the Kern RWMG, and prescribed the preliminary roles and responsibilities for the RWMG. The members of the “Inaugural” RWMG that signed the Agreement in October 2008, are referred to as “Participants”. RWMG Participants are involved in the decision-making process during development of the Kern IRWMP by each having one vote, and a vote of approval is required by a majority of Participants.

This type of governance (MOU based) is voluntary on the part of the signatories to the MOU, and relies on the members of the RWMG to choose to collaborate. This approach has worked well during development of the IRWMP.

The same level of effort required to develop the IRWMP will not be required to administer the IRWMP. Minimal or no consultant support will be available, however, at a minimum, 10 to 12 hours monthly will be required to manage the administrative activities required to sustain the IRWMP. A higher level of activity may require a half-time position. Administrative activities include a wide variety of activities, including administrative services, website management, document production, meeting preparation, etc. Although approximately 1% of each grant is usually available to manage the grant, one cannot rely fully on grant funds to manage the IRWMP. Kern County Water Agency staff has been relied upon during development of the IRWMP to perform these tasks. This governance structure proposes that the Executive Committee assumes the responsibility for administration of the IRWMP, which will require consideration of staffing either in-house, through in-kind services, or through hiring of an out-side consultant.

Using the Participation Agreement as a guide, the following draft terms outline the responsibilities of the Participants, the Executive Committee, and Stakeholders, for implementation of the IRWMP.

Draft Terms of Participation Agreement (or MOU)

The amended or new Participation Agreement will address the following topics:

  • Organization
  • Roles
  • Representation and Decision Making

Organization

The recommended Governance Structure for Implementation will include three groups:

  1. Regional Water Management GroupParticipants –signatories to the Participation Agreement
  2. Executive Committee – a 9 subgroup of the RWMG Participants, and working group comprised of one representative and one alternate from each of the eight (8)[1] subregions that comprise the Kern Region: 1) Greater Bakersfield, 2) Kern Fan, 3) Mountains/Foothills, 4) North County, 5) South County, 6) West Side, 7)KCWA, and 8) the County of Kern, in addition to one non-governmental organization member or community member. Aligning the Executive Committee with the subregions ensures that their roles and responsibilities will support the planning efforts regionally. Executive Committee members are nominated and elected from the RWMG Participants to provide focused initiative and effort to accomplish the two-three year objectives for the Governance Structure.
  3. Stakeholder Group – an open group of interested people that participate in public meetings related to the update and implementation of the Kern CountyIRWMP. Anyone may participate as part of the Stakeholder Group if they are willing to abide by the group’s Code of Conduct.

Roles

  1. The Regional Water Management GroupParticipants will:
  2. To offer their facilities for stakeholder meetings on an as-available basis.
  3. To appoint one (1) representative and one (1) alternate to the Executive Committee for each respective subregion.
  4. Promote regional cooperation among their respective agencies or organizations focused on implementing the IRWM Plan
  5. Provide funding to support cooperative efforts focused on implementing the IRWM Plan
  6. Provide financial oversight for efforts using shared funds
  7. Approve (or deny) recommendations for use of shared funds made by the Leadership Team on behalf of the Stakeholder Group
  8. Provide a decision mechanism (by majority vote where each representative has a single vote) in instances where facilitated broad agreement within the Stakeholder Group cannot be reached
  9. Empower the Executive Committee to fulfill the roles outlined below
  10. The Executive Committee will:
  11. Collaborate with the Stakeholder Group and others
  12. Call and conduct Participant, Executive, and Stakeholder meetings as necessary.
  13. The Executive Committee will pick two (2) of its members as co-chairs, one (1) from the agricultural sector and one (1) from the urban sector.
  14. The co-chairs will conduct and direct meetings of the RWMG.
  15. The co-chairs, acting as signatories for the RWMG, may execute third-party agreements for integration with other RWMGs with the approval of at least 51 percent of the Participants.
  16. Provide quarterly progress reports and updates to the IRWMP
  17. Initiate actions with the Stakeholder Group to identify, select, and apply for appropriate funding opportunities
  18. Recommend to the Stakeholder Group, hire, and manage consultants as needed
  19. Gather, compile and manage data as defined in IRWMP and any grant related contracts received to implement the IRWMP
  20. Identify and provide needed expertise when appropriate
  21. Prepare an annual budget each year and present to the Stakeholder Group and RWMG for approval
  22. Manage operating funds as provided by the approved budget
  23. Serve as central point of contact for RWMG and IRWMP Implementation. The Executive Committee will select one person to serve as the designated point of contact on behalf of the Implementation Governance Structure. This person may or may not be a member of the Executive Committee.
  24. Provide facilitation for implementation process
  25. Identify and coordinate with staff dedicated to supporting the roles of the Executive Committee
  26. Coordinate with a legal entity (e.g., Kern Water Bank Authority JPA) willing to act on behalf of the Stakeholder Group to:
  27. Execute and manage contracts as approved by the RWMG and Stakeholder Group
  28. Oversee receipt and processing of financial transactions
  29. Provide annual audited reports of financial transactions according to accepted accounting practices
  30. Initiate discussions related to long-term governance preferences
  31. Provide spokesperson or advocate to represent the Stakeholder Group and RWMG related to implementation of the IRWMP

Representation and Decision Making

  1. Regional Water Management Group Participants:
  2. Each signatory of the current RWMG Participation Agreement will continue as members of the RWMG
  3. New entities may join the RWMG by becoming a signatory to the Participation Agreement if approved by existing members
  4. Each member of the RWMG will contribute at least 5% of annual budget for Executive Committee functions through cash or in-kind services
  5. Entities that are not members of the RWMG may contribute funding or in-kind services to support the activities of the Executive Committee without becoming signatories to the Participation Agreement
  6. Each organization that is a signatory to the Participation Agreement will appoint one representative to serve on the RWMG
  7. Each member of the RWMG will have one vote
  8. If broad agreement cannot be reached, actions may be taken by the RWMG based on a simple majority vote
  9. Executive Committee:
  10. Shall consist of nine members selected by the Participant Group to represent the Kern Region for staggered three year terms[2]:
  11. KernCounty(2011)
  12. Kern County Water Agency(2012)
  13. West Side (2010)
  14. Kern Fan (2011)
  15. NorthCounty (2012)
  16. SouthCounty (2010)
  17. Mountains/Foothills (2011)
  18. Greater Bakersfield (2012)
  19. Non-Governmental Organization or Community Member (2010)
  20. Nominations for each category can be made by any member of the RWMG Participants and will be made during a Stakeholder Meeting
  21. If the person nominated is willing to serve on the Executive Committee as described, that person will be considered as a potential member by the RWMG Participants
  22. Nominations for each open category will be discussed by the RWMG Participants during a Stakeholder Meeting. When more than one qualified nomination is made per category, the RWMG Participants will choose one team member per category. Selections will be made using facilitated broad agreement. If a selection cannot be made using broad agreement, a selection will be made based on simple majority vote. Each RWMG Participants member present may cast one vote per category.
  23. If a Executive Committee position becomes vacant before the regularly scheduled reselection year, the same selection process described in this section will be used to select a replacement.
  24. Executive Committee members cannot designate an alternate.
  25. Members of the Executive Committee will strive to make decisions based on broad agreement. If broad agreement cannot be reached on a particular matter, a simple majority vote can be used to move forward.
  26. If the Stakeholder Group is not satisfied with the performance of one or more Executive Committee members, one or more members of the RWMG Participants can request that the RWMG conduct a new nomination and selection cycle for the category (or categories) not being served satisfactorily.

DRAFT1June 23, 2009

The following are suggested focus points for the Executive Committee when discussing the new governance structure moving forward.

Recommended Roles for a New Governance Structure

Recommended roles for a new governance structure to serve within first two - three years after adoption of an IRWMP:

  • Provide focused leadership for implementing and updating IRWMP
  • Serve as contracting agency for state or federal grant funds related to implementation of IRWMP
  • Track and report performance related to IRWMP goals
  • Focus efforts to identify potential sources of outside funding and assist local entities to compete for those funds
  • Provide leadership to focus cooperative efforts for broad regional planning and implementation efforts such as:
  • regional water recycling
  • regional water quality preservation
  • regional water conservation programs
  • regional data and information management
  • regional groundwater banking program

Factors Needed to Fulfill Objectives and Recommended Roles

The following factors must be provided within a new governance structure to accomplish successfully the draft goals and serve the recommended roles:

  • People dedicated to provide leadership
  • Initiate actions
  • Collaborate with others
  • Call public / stakeholder meetings, set agendas, and lead meetings
  • Prepare documents for quarterly updates
  • Identify, select, and apply for appropriate funding opportunities
  • Capability to gather, compile and manage data and information
  • Ability to execute and manage contracts
  • Ability to receive and process financial transactions and meet acceptable accounting standards
  • Expertise
  • Operating funds
  • Point of contact
  • Process facilitation

DRAFT1June 23, 2009

DRAFT1June 23, 2009

[1]The Mountains/Foothills subregion is considering splitting into two subregions.

[2] Members for each category will be reselected in the year shown and every three years following.