Dear Editor,
The June 24th reporting on the June 15th Heights water board meeting by the Yellowstone County News was accurate, but as my name was mentioned in the article, I thought further context was in order. I cannot justify calling Cabrera a rude name but going into that meeting, I had been, to say the least, very annoyed as a Heights water board ratepayer and as the husband of Ms. Ellis. From my wife’s sharing her hundreds of hours investigating laws governing the board and researching 16 years of board minutes, I became aware that for decades the water district manager and water board were operating illegally and in secrecy. There were no board elections because openings for board positions were not announced. The result of the water board and management colluding to compensate themselves has the Heights Water District manager’s compensation rival that of many of school administrators. School administrators are responsible for dozens of employees as well as hundreds of students while the Heights water manager has less than a dozen employees. Hiring a district manager in 2022, he received a pay increase of 29%. He’s now proposing an 8% increase for himself and all employees. If you add up salaries and benefits paid to employees last year and divide by the number of employees, the average compensation was $77,665.
After a few citizens worked with my wife to elect new members to the Heights Water Board, the current board seemed committed to reforming the Heights Water District’s practices. I’m not sure if it was hiring a manager associated with previous management or members of the board taking illegal compensation or placing Cabrera in a leadership role, but commitment to reform seems to be dying. Cabrera announced to the district manager in the last meeting: … “the board does not bring our advice to you, but you bring advice to the board.” He asked the other board members, Hurst and Graves, if they agreed and they said, “Yes.” Does it not mean that the board will have no oversight over the Heights Water District management? What purpose does the Heights Water Board serve? What purpose does the Heights Water District serve?
What can residents do? Stay current by reading Yellowstone County News articles, or on second Wednesdays of each month, attend 6 pm board meetings, at the District Office, 1540 Popelka Drive. Make your concerns known to a member of the Heights Water Board or to a Yellowstone County Commissioner. My wife answers questions from ratepayers and will continue to do so.
Bob Ellis
Billings, MT
