New DuPage Water Commission to review finalists for manager

The newly appointed members of the DuPage Water Commission hit their first whitecap Thursday night in their attempt to right the wayward ship.

But their captain promises smooth sailing from here on out.

Shortly after the commission's 13 members, eight of whom are newly appointed, took their oath, interim Financial Administrator Rick Skiba warned them the commission's bond ratings on nearly $84 million of debt took a hit that increased interest rates from 2.5 percent to 4 percent on the commission's debt certificate.

The overhaul of the water commission board was required because of a state law approved after the commission accidentally spent its $69 million reserve fund through poor accounting practices and lackadaisical financial oversight.

Former commissioner and newly appointed Chairman Jim Zay, however, said the commission would rebound from its recent financial woes and outlined a three-phase plan to do so.

“We'll be taking the water commission in a new direction,” Zay said. “The past is past.”

While the former water commission did a search after the previous treasurer and general manager resigned, Zay said the final vote to fill those spots was delayed until the new commission was in place.

The commission's first priority, Zay said will be interview the three finalists already lined up to replace Bob Martin, the former general manager who resigned last March. Zay said the new commission will interview those individuals before making a decision.

“If we can come to a consensus and have a plan to hire one of the three within a month, great,” Zay said. “If not, we'll start the whole process over again.”

The next order of business was Thursday's hiring of retired DuPage County Auditor Jim Rasins to be the commission's new treasurer at an annual salary of $10,000.

“I've known Jim for a long time and I have no doubt his professionalism will keep us in line as we move forward,” Zay said.

Once Rasins is settled, Zay said he expects the search for a new financial services provider could begin in March or April.

The third piece, he said, will be ongoing as the commission strives for more transparency throughout the organization.

“We can start that by making agendas available that the public can actually understand,” he said, before also proposing a one-year limit for contracts to remain open with the same contractors, and a rate study to help the commission decide how to recoup the $37.6 million undercharge in rates while still charging customers a fair rate.

“We've got a tough job ahead of us,” Zay said. “But I believe we're ready for it.”