Board Selects Alliance to Recruit Next General Manager

The Coastside County Water District board took its most consequential governance step in years on April 14, unanimously choosing an executive search firm to find its next general manager — a hire that will shape the small coastal district's infrastructure strategy, rate trajectory, and operations for the foreseeable future. The meeting also brought a national honor for the district's largest-ever capital project and a draft budget underscoring the revenue pressure of persistently flat water sales.

• Alliance Resource Consulting selected at $32,000 to lead the general manager search, with an ad hoc advisory committee formed to guide the process

• Carter Hill prestressed concrete tank named DN Tanks national Project of the Year out of 80 tanks built across the U.S. — and it's already online serving the community

• Draft FY26-27 budget projects flat water volumes, a final 8% rate increase in January 2027, and a 2.8% rise in operating expenses

• Nine-month financials beat budget by $913,000 as staff slashed costly imported water purchases by maximizing local sources

• $144,000 in technology contracts approved for SCADA maintenance and cloud-based asset management software

Why it matters: General Manager Mary Rogren is departing, and whoever replaces her will oversee a district in the midst of record capital spending, a challenging revenue environment, and critical decisions about local water supply and rate-setting.