The Plan for the Future

By Kathryn Bogart

The first thing I will do when elected is identify the problems of the past and make sure that the leadership of the district is focused, aware and prepared to deal with any and all contingencies that may confront them. The quality of our water is of paramount importance to our community and I will diligently work to ensure that the trust of the people is earned.

Fiscal accountability is also vital. JCSD is a multimillion dollar company and it needs to be held accountable for the way it spends its money and how they do their accounting of special tax funds they receive. Independent audits should be scheduled on a regular basis.

The JCSD is lacking in standards and organization. Last July when the nitrate levels were in danger of going over the legally safe limit, they completely failed in notifying the public of the dangers. Although JCSD has said that they have fixed the problem, they have lost the publics' trust regarding their safety. They need to have a disaster preparedness plan in place now. The JCSD should use a program such as ISO certification to help standardize and organize the districts policies.

The residents of Eastvale have additional concerns that of its parks and landscaping. This is something that the JCSD has never dealt with before and it's becoming a major part of their business. The residents need to be assured that their special tax interests will not be overlooked by the districts other duties or that their tax dollars are not being spent on things other than what they are meant to go to. The JCSD needs to employ a Smart Growth view on dealing with the Western Riverside Counties' development, a view where growth embraces our quality of life. They need to make sure that the communities can accommodate the growth in ways that are environmentally reasonable, economically sound and it needs to be supportive to the communities' livability.