San Mateo Courts - Civil Grand Jury
USE
OF COASTSIDE COUNTY WATER DISTRICT STATIONERY
- Summary
| Background
| Findings
| Recommendations
| Responses
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| In
two instances, individuals on the Coastside County Water District Board,
using district letterhead, corresponded with other governmental agencies
taking positions that had not been adopted by the district.
The grand jury finds
that this represents a situation of possible implied misrepresentation.
The Coastside County Water District should adopt a policy that if an individual
uses district stationery to present views not adopted by the entity's
board, the author should at the earliest opportunity in the letter state
that the views and positions presented are those of the author and not
those of the entity.
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| The
grand jury received copies of two letters written in May and June of 2000
on Coastside County Water District letterhead by individual district board
members to other governmental agencies. There is not a specific statement
in the letters whether the views stated are the positions of the district
board or those of the individual board member. The general manager of
the district advised the grand jury in writing that the communications
in the letters were not authorized by the district board.
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| The
grand jury finds that the two letters written on Coastside County Water
District stationery by individual board members express only the individual's
and not the district's views. As there is no statement in the letters
clarifying whether the views are those of the author or the district,
the letters present a situation of possible implied misrepresentation. |
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Recommendation 2.18
The Coastside County
Water District should adopt a policy that if an individual uses district
stationery to present views not adopted by the entity's board, the author
should at the earliest opportunity in the letter state that the views
and positions presented are those of the author and not those of the
entity.
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Recommendation 2.19
The 2001-2002 grand
jury should follow up with other governmental entities to see if they
have policies concerning the use of their letterhead stationery.
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Response from Coastside Water District
Recommendation
2.18
"The Coastside County
Water District should adopt a policy that if an individual uses district
stationery to present views not adopted by the entity's board, the author
should at the earliest opportunity in the letter state that the views
and positions presented are those of the author and not those of the
entity."
Response:
The District accepts
this recommendation and in fact, the Board adopted such a policy at
the September 12, 2000 Board of Directors meeting. Following this meeting,
District letterhead bearing individual director names was distributed
to the directors who requested a personal supply of District letterhead.
The Board believes that by adopting this practice, a director who wishes
to communicate positions or perspectives on District-related matters
will be able to do so as a director without creating confusion as to
whether he/she is implicitly speaking for the Board. Furthermore, all
directors, in future District-related correspondence, will state at
the earliest opportunity in a letter, that the views and positions presented
are those of the author and not those of the District.
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