Hidden Valley Lake finance committee backs FY2025–26 budget, recommends 2.8% COLA and SCADA cybersecurity contract

The Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District Finance Committee on June 10 recommended that the full board adopt the district’s fiscal year 2025–26 budget, recommended a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for employees effective July 1, 2025, and recommended awarding a contract to GHD to implement a SCADA cybersecurity grant.

Director Gary Graves called the meeting to order at 12:36 p.m. and moved to approve the agenda. The minutes record the motion; a mover is recorded and the vote tally is not specified in the document.

During its review of the financial reports for the period ending May 31, 2025, staff addressed committee inquiries about district finances. The committee then reviewed the draft budget and narrative for FY2025–26 and recommended that the Board adopt the budget and narrative at its next meeting.

The committee recommended a 2.8% COLA for district employees, effective July 1, 2025, and directed staff to update Compensation Plan Policy #3004.2 to provide greater clarity on how the consumer price index calculation will be applied. The minutes do not specify the financial impact or the vote tally for the recommendation; the committee’s action is recorded as a recommendation to the board.

The committee also recommended approval of Smith & Newall CPA engagement and communication letters as standard audit protocol. Separately, members reviewed the Browning Reserve Study and discussed long-term capital replacement projections and funding strategies; staff were directed to make the updates and revisions discussed.

On cybersecurity, the committee recommended that the Board award GHD a contract to implement the SCADA cybersecurity grant to bolster protections for supervisory control and data acquisition systems the district uses to manage infrastructure. The minutes summarize the recommendation but do not list contract value or vote details.

Staff provided a general projects update listing current and upcoming district projects, timelines and next steps; the minutes do not include project-level line-item detail. There was no public comment. Committee members thanked staff, and Director Graves adjourned the meeting at 1:41 p.m.

All recommendations are recorded as committee recommendations to the full Board of Directors; the minutes do not include vote tallies for those recommendations. Matters the committee recommended—budget adoption, employee COLA, audit engagement letters and the GHD contract—will be before the Board for final action.