They are your neighbors: JCSUD is governed by people whose families drink the water every day. They are elected by their fellow community members to serve on the JCSUD Board of Directors.
They are volunteers: These board members are volunteers who devote their time and energy to providing a better quality of life for their community by ensuring a clean supply of drinking water and sewer services. They realize the importance of these services to the sustainability and public health of Johnson County and the surrounding communities.
They are ambassadors: They are your representative to help oversee the water system, and they are also the system’s representative to tell the system’s story to the media and the public.
Responsibilities
Policy: Their major role is to develop policy, while leaving operations to the water system’s staff. Policies set by the board are the “how to” of running JCSUD and cover all aspects of the organization, varying in scope from rates and customer service polices to purchasing/ procurement policies to personnel policies.
Understanding Regulations: There are many federal and state regulations and laws that affect your water and/or sewer system and how it does business. It is a responsibility of the water system’s board of directors to keep abreast of them and ensure the system and its business operations are in compliance.
Planning: One of the board’s jobs is to look forward and try to best position the system for the future. It is up to the board to determine goals and objectives and major ways to achieve them. This includes securing future water supplies, asset management, financial security, customer relations and recruiting for future board members, just to name a few. Just like managing your personal finances and assets, JCSUD is constantly planning for short-term and long-term needs.
Budgets: The board approves the system’s annual budget and periodically reviews its progress to ensure the system is on track to meet its goals for the year. The budgeting process helps the board focus on the system’s mission, assess if planned expenditures are achieving the desired results, determine operational and capital spending, and highlight key measures of performance.
Management: The JCSUD Board of Directors has just one employee—the general manager. The board recruits, selects, compensates, and appraises the general manager. The general manager then manages the rest of the staff and implements the board’s policies.
Monitor System Performance: The board of directors is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the water or wastewater utility, but they do monitor the overall performance of the system. This information is gathered through monthly reports, customer feedback, and audits. The board uses this information to gauge the success of their short-range and long-range planning.
Meetings: There are two major reasons for a board meeting—discussing and deciding on water system business. It is the board’s responsibility to set and post the agenda, and then conduct business openly, lawfully and ethically.
Emergency Preparedness: Man-made and natural disasters, along with everyday breakdowns of facilities and equipment, can drastically affect the ability to meet the customers’ needs. The board of directors is responsible for ensuring there are emergency plans in place to guide the board and staff on what to do in a crisis.