BOOK 20_1945-05-21 to 1946-09-03

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264 or professional engineer and at time of appointment must be registered as a civil engineer in the State of California. Councilman Britschgi raised the question as to whether the salary range of $4200 to $5000 would be sufficient. He believed if a higher salary were paid, a more competent engineer could be obtained and it might not be necessary to hire an outside engineer for the master plan. City Manger Blom, however, was of the opinion that the qualifi- cations for the two positions were different. He believed the City Engineer should have considerable experience in special assessment procedures for street improvements and water supply systems. He also believed the City Engineer would have the factor of security in this position which would war- rant placing the salary lower than some outside positions might pay. Coun- cilman Fletcher moved, seconded 'by Mayor Hilton, that the recommendation of the Board of Review and City Manager be accepted with respect to the posi- tion of City Engineer. Motion passed unanimously. Under the.above specifications, the position of Civil Engineer would be deleted from the personnel system. City Manager Blom reported that he was somewhat concerned about the financial situation of the Water:Department. Taking the budget of this year as a guide, the anticipated revenue from sales of water amounts to $225,000 and operating expenses deducted from that leaves a balance of gross profit of $31,000. The book value of the water system is approximately $600,000. The gross profit without anything being set aside for depreciation is only 5�. .It was his opinion that it was necessary to begin to set aside some fixed amount each year for depreciation. The gross portion of the $600,000 is in cast iron water mains which could be expected to last for 40 or 50 years, however, there are some mains which have deteriorated badly and have reached the stage where replacement is needed. The reservoirs are in good condition but there are many other installations which will not last as long as the mains and reservoirs. Some areas have suddenly developed into large water users and the mains are not adequate. It will be necessary to make additions to the Hetch Hetchy system. The Emerald Lake district needs addit- ional pumping equipment and reservoir to take care of the problems in that district. He said there were some serious deficiencies in the mains which must be financed from the present reserve account. Two solutions to the problem were presented by him. One - higher rates to the consumers which would make it possible to set aside a reasonable amount for depreciation to continue with improvements as to the present system and for demands placed for connections in new subdivisions. Two - require sub- dividers to pay the full cost of installation of mains in new subdivisions or to put the mains in under special preceedings. A modification of that i solution might be to make refunds over a period of years on the basis of water used. The present system provides for refunds on the number of con- + nections. He asked that a definite policy be established and published so that the public would be informed of it. The present policy provides for the instal- lation free of charge for one consumer of 150 feet of water main,the user N 1