This week's headlines

A former member of the Orchard City Irrigation District board of directors and two sitting board members were elected to new terms at the OCID annual meeting Saturday at Orchard City Town Hall.

Also during the meeting, a water commissioner's report on snowpack levels pegged the current figure at 51 percent of 30-year average as of the morning of the meeting.

By contrast, last year's reading at the end of January was 157 percent of average. A storm predicted to contain up to 18 inches of snowfall moved across the Grand Mesa later in the evening.

Cliff Gilliam, a former OCID board member, won a three-year term in the member balloting, as also did sitting board member Scot Buhrdorf. Board member John Kirkpatrick was returned to the board for another two years.

Mike Thomas, the much respected former board president who is credited with spearheading many lasting improvements in the OCID's physical system and operations structure, chose not to seek another term

The committee counting votes in the four-way contest reported that it was the closest vote result in memory for an OCID board election.

Board president Jeff Wick explained reasons for a 23-percent increase in water assessments this year. The jump from $28.89 last year to $35.56 for 2012 is needed to reimburse the checking account for higher than expected spending on maintenance last year.

The 2011 budget called for $10,700 in maintenance expense. There was $18,396 spent as of October, according to district figures. The 2012 budget calls for $20,000 in maintenance spending this year.

Wick explained his management view that equipment needs to be kept up and in good repair in order to avoid much higher costs later.

Board member Jan Gage added that irrigation system upgrade grants that the District may apply for require up-front spending, and that funds need to be available for those kinds of projects. The increase in assessments will replenish funds spent on maintenance in 2011, she explained, and help keep money available for grant-reimbursed work should grants become available..

The 23 percent increase in the per-irrigated acre assessment translates into a 21 percent increase in total income for the district – $99,689 in 2012 compared with $81,935 in 2011. Income from water assessments alone is budgeted at $98,139 for 2012 compared with $80,185 in the 2011 budget.

The largest single line item expense in the budget, the water superintendent's salary, will increase by ten percent – to $26,000 in 2012 from $23,625 the previous year. The 2012 budgeted salary figure is 26 percent higher than the $20,625 paid in 2010.

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