Idyllwild Town Crier

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his May revision for the comingfiscal year (FY) budget. For FY 2024-25, beginning July 1, Newsom’srevised total expenditures, including federal, special and bond funds,will be nearly $288 billion, of which $201 billion will be for theGeneral Fund accounts. This is about $25 billion less than available forthe current FY, which ends...

Thursday, May 9, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)unanimously approved a change in how large investor-owned utilities maybill for electricity in California. In late 2025, electric bills will be the total of a fixed or flat rateand a usage charge. Current bills are based on usage alone. The changeintroduces the separation of the electric...

The Fern Valley Water District (FVWD) Planning Committee, composed ofBoard Chair Jon Brown and Director Kevin Scott, met May 9 to develop thecapital improvement plan (CIP) for the draft fiscal year (FY) 2024-25budget. This will be submitted to both the Budget Committee May 13 andto the board of directors at its regular meeting May 16.

Pine Cove Water District’s May 8 meeting focused largely on the draftbudget, as the financial year draws to a close. The new budget totalsonly about 2% more than last year, well below the rate of inflation,currently around 3.5%. General Manager Jeremy Potter reported that the district’s static wellrose 4.4 feet to 74.5 feet, and...

Last week, the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) announcedthat the state’s groundwater supplies were improving. Although moregroundwater is needed, the rain year 2023, which was October 2022through September 2023, resulted in significant increases in the state’sgroundwater inventory. Many of California’s urban areas rely on surface water, such as theColorado River project transferring water...