Ojai groundwater authority holds extraction and GSP fees steady in FY2026-27 budget

Ojai groundwater authority holds extraction and GSP fees steady in FY2026-27 budgetThe Ojai Basin Groundwater Management Authority approved its FY2026-27 budget on 24 September with no proposed increase to extraction charges or Groundwater Sustainability Plan fees. The authority said it has sufficient bank reserves to cover a planned year in which expenses exceed income.

The board unanimously adopted the FY2026-27 budget after a prior review at its 9 September special meeting.

No changes to extraction fees or GSP fees were recommended at this time.

Staff said earlier GSP-fee increases were intended to build reserves for additional expenses, allowing the current-year overage to be funded from savings.

Budget revisions include larger office space, records consolidation, and a computer and mobile phone for the incoming General Manager.

Ojai Basin Groundwater Management Authority has approved a FY2026-27 budget that keeps its groundwater extraction charges and Groundwater Sustainability Plan fees unchanged, despite staff expecting expenses to exceed income during the fiscal year. The board adopted the budget unanimously at its 24 September meeting. Staff said the authority has a “healthy balance in the bank,” and that the forecast deficit can be met from accumulated savings. The approach follows fee increases in previous years to fund expected additional costs associated with the Groundwater Sustainability Plan process. “The reason we had raised the GSP fee the prior years was because we knew we were going to have additional expenses,” staff told the board. “That kind of overage can come out of what’s in savings.” The approved budget was revised from an earlier draft following plans to secure larger office accommodation for the authority’s clerk, administrator and incoming General Manager. Staff said the existing office is cramped, particularly when three staff members are present or when a well owner visits to review files. The authority also intends to clear a rented storage unit holding files, potentially adopt a records-retention policy, and consolidate records within its existing building. Other additions include funding for a computer and mobile phone that will remain assigned to the General Manager position. The financial decision comes as the authority prepares a five-year periodic evaluation of its Groundwater Sustainability Plan. Staff said consultant Dudek had delivered a draft document of about 100 pages, which staff will review before returning comments. The authority expects the final evaluation to be submitted to the California Department of Water Resources by the end of January. Separately, the board received a basin-status presentation reporting that the key L-Rod Well had a pre-pumping depth to water of 107.04ft on 23 September, equivalent to an estimated 79% of basin capacity, or 63,200 acre-feet. Staff said late-summer water-level recession and low surface-water inflows were expected seasonal conditions.