Ross Campbell: MID shouldn’t ‘fight’ over doing what is right
It appears the president of the Modesto Irrigation District Board of Directors, Larry Bird, lost his cool at the April 14 board meeting. Several people in the audience were taking exception to the fact that the MID board subsidizes the irrigation operation by transferring income from electric customers to the irrigation operation. Byrd is quoted in The Bee (April 20, Page 1A) as saying, “Three or four people have been beating the drum about the subsidy – I can hardly say the word, it makes me so sick to think about it.” Later, he was quoted saying, “I’m not going to let anybody put pressure on me ... hell yes I’m ready to take on the fight.”
The MID is a non-regulated Special District of the State of California. As such, MID board actions are the law within the district’s boundaries. If you disagree with a board action, the only way owners and customers have to challenge the action is to take them to court. That’s exactly what Dave Thomas, who leads the Stanislaus Taxpayers Association, has done.
No one is pitting farmers against the city of Modesto, and Larry Bird does not have to take on any fight. The courts will determine what the law is concerning cost of service and profits for special districts, and we’ll go from there.
Ross Campbell, Modesto
This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Ross Campbell: MID shouldn’t ‘fight’ over doing what is right."