As LAFCO braces for an inevitable lawsuit over public water buyout, another delay.

Before the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District can act on the will of a majority of Peninsula voters and make an offer to buy out the local assets of private utility California American Water, an arcane government agency, the Monterey County Local Agency Formation Commission, has to first give its blessing.

The issue of the buyout has been in front of LAFCO since April and a decision will now have to wait until at least December. Ahead of what was supposed to be a final vote on Oct. 25, LAFCO staff said they received more than 100 letters and emails in the two weeks leading up to the meeting that contained new information that needed analysis. Included in the barrage of correspondence was a 400-page letter from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips – the law firm representing Cal Am – the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District and the Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association.

Commissioners Luis Alejo and Wendy Root Askew recused themselves because they received campaign contributions from relevant parties, Alejo from Cal Am law firm Anthony Lombardo & Associates and Root Askew from pro-buyout group Public Water Now. The rest of the LAFCO board voted to come back on Dec. 6 to take up the final vote.

It’s the second delay; in June, the LAFCO board voted to require the water district to pay for another financial feasibility study on the proposed buyout of Cal Am’s local system. LAFCO board member and Seaside Mayor Ian Oglesby voted against it. “Who is LAFCO to say, you can’t afford it if you want to pay for it?” he says.

MPWMD General Manager David Stoldt objected to holding off until December. “This is a delaying tactic, there is nothing new in those hundreds of pages,” he says.

LAFCO’s staff disagreed. Jonathan Brinkmann, senior analyst with LAFCO, says the correspondence brought up a handful of issues that need to be addressed. MPUSD raised concerns over a potential loss in tax funding if the local water system becomes public and pays no property tax. Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association, which is embroiled in a lawsuit against MPWMD over a district fee, said that until the court rules on its lawsuit, MPWMD’s finances are not stable.

Brinkmann and LAFCO Executive Officer Kate McKenna emphasized the need for the commission to make a “legally defensible” decision. Stoldt says LAFCO will likely get sued following their decision – whether it’s by Cal Am or MPWMD will depend on how the board decides. Cal Am has staunchly opposed a public buyout since day one.