I am Alex Starr, and I am here tonight representing the League of Women Voters of Fremont, Newark and Union City.

We are interested in maintaining the quality and reliability of the water that ACWD delivers, and we have a few questions that relate to the proposed 5% increase.

• How much of the increase has been passed on to our water district by the San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC), and on what have they based the increased fees?
• Are any of the capital improvements mentioned for maintaining the reliability of the Hetch Hetchy System?  If so, will any of the improvements be put out to bid outside of the City of San Francisco?  Competitive bidding is a good way to control costs.

Our feeling is that costs imposed on Bay Area Water Users by the SFPUC are a type of taxation without representation.  We are interested in finding ways to have the water users who purchase Hetch Hetchy water from San Francisco have more input into the decisions that affect us.  Governance is always a League concern.

After presenting our concerns to all of the Leagues in the Bay Area, the League of Women Voters of California, the League of Women Voters of the Bay Area, and all of the Leagues in San Mateo County will be presenting a forum on Hetch Hetchy on February 25, 2006.  We will keep you informed as the the location and time in case you are interested in attending.