<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73768" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article86330937.html" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74275">http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article86330937.html</a><span></span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73768"><br></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73959"><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 52px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 35px; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; color: inherit; padding: 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73960">Westlands Water District to split top jobs amid missteps, criticism</h1></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); padding-bottom: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-family: 'McClatchy Sans', Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73961"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; min-height: 1px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; position: relative; width: 820px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73962"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top-width: 2px; border-top-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-width: 2px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 10px 0px 6px; font-size: 16px; position: relative;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73963"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 8px; line-height: 1.5em; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-bottom: 6px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73964">Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham will no longer serve dual role as general counsel</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 8px; line-height: 1.5em; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-bottom: 6px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73965">District’s board searching for new legal representation</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5em; border-bottom-style: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73966">Birmingham will remain the general manager</div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73967"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px; visibility: visible;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73968"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73969"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; -webkit-user-select: none; overflow: hidden;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73970"><div aria-live="polite" tabindex="0" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73971"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); left: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; zoom: 1; opacity: 1; width: 780px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73972"><div data-slick-index="0" aria-hidden="false" style="box-sizing: border-box; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); float: left; min-height: 536px; min-height: 1px; position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 780px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73973"><span data-src="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/ivw6iz/picture86330927/ALTERNATES/FREE_320/MCC%20WATER%202" data-width-320="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73974"></span><span data-src="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/ivw6iz/picture86330927/ALTERNATES/FREE_480/MCC%20WATER%202" data-width-480="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73975"></span><span data-src="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/ivw6iz/picture86330927/ALTERNATES/FREE_640/MCC%20WATER%202" data-width-640="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73976"></span><span data-src="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/ivw6iz/picture86330927/ALTERNATES/FREE_768/MCC%20WATER%202" data-width-768="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73977"></span><span data-src="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/ivw6iz/picture86330927/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/MCC%20WATER%202" data-width-960="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73978"></span><span data-src="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/ivw6iz/picture86330927/ALTERNATES/FREE_1140/MCC%20WATER%202" data-width-1140="" style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73979"></span><img alt="Westlands Water District’s Tom Birmingham speaks during a meeting with farmers in 2013." title="Westlands Water District’s Tom Birmingham speaks during a meeting with farmers in 2013." data-preload="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/ivw6iz/picture86330927/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/MCC%20WATER%202" src="http://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/ivw6iz/picture86330927/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/MCC%20WATER%202" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: middle; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); display: block; ; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; left: 0px; margin: auto; max-height: 536px; max-width: 780px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73980" class="" data-id="f46acd50-f06c-a226-111c-4a76a2a52b1f"></div></div></div></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px 0px; text-align: center;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73981"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px; min-height: 40px; transform: scale3d(1, 1, 1);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73982"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73983">Westlands Water District’s Tom Birmingham speaks during a meeting with farmers in 2013. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73984">MARK CROSSE</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73985">Fresno Bee Staff Photo</span></div></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 80px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73986"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; font-family: 'McClatchy Slab', Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); display: inline-block; padding-bottom: 3px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73987"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5em; text-transform: uppercase;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73988"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73989">BY RORY APPLETON</span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5em; font-style: italic;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73990"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73991"><a href="mailto:rappleton@fresnobee.com" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(13, 118, 186); text-decoration: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_73992">rappleton@fresnobee.com</a></span></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; 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font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74028">Westlands Water District, which has come under fire from farmers and the federal government over its financial and other dealings, has decided it no longer wants its general manager to also function as the district’s top lawyer, agency officials said Monday.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74029">Tom Birmingham will no longer serve as both general manager and general counsel of Fresno-based Westlands, the largest agricultural water district in the nation. He will remain as general manager, but the board is seeking new legal representation, said Westlands board President Don Peracchi. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74030">“The board concluded that the complexities involved in securing water supply, groundwater management and other challenges facing the district require the full attention of the general manager,” Peracchi said. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74031">Birmingham has served as the general manager since 2000. He had served as general counsel concurrently from October 2000 to May 2010, when the district hired former Assistant Secretary of the Interior Craig Manson as its legal representation. Manson, also a former Sacramento County superior court judge, retired in August 2015, and Birmingham was re-appointed general counsel. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74032">Peracchi said the change will “promote more transparency and good government practices, and represents the beginning of a process to improve the decision-making and operations of the district.”</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74033">The district has faced criticism and more recently over transparency and its governing practices. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74034">The Securities and Exchange Commission <a href="https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2016/33-10053.pdf" target="_blank" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(13, 118, 186); text-decoration: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74035">fined Westlands $150,000 in March</a> for allegedly misrepresenting its revenues and debts during the sale of bonds in 2012. It also fined Birmingham $50,000 for negligence related to Westlands’ violation. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74036">The Associated Press <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2016-06-09-US--California%20Water-Loan/id-c69ec7a8c37146f98f18f52a9b4ddde5" target="_blank" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(13, 118, 186); text-decoration: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74037">reported on June 9 </a>that in 2007 Westlands gave then-assistant general manager Jason Peltier a $1.4 million loan at a low interest rate to buy a riverfront home in Walnut Grove, south of Sacramento. The loan has not been repaid. Westlands told the AP that the deal was legal and had not been disclosed publicly because it was made during a closed-session board meeting. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74038">Westlands spokeswoman Gayle Holman said the move to separate job functions was not designed to punish Birmingham, but rather it will allow him to focus on the challenges surrounding supplying water to 600,000 acres of farmland – about one-third of which has been left fallow due to lack of water. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74039">Brad Gleason, a Fresno County farmer and Westlands customer, has been <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article84837882.html" target="_blank" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(13, 118, 186); text-decoration: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74040">an outspoken critic</a> of the district’s leadership during a difficult time for the central San Joaquin Valley.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74041">“If the board is headed on the wrong path due to someone like the general manager, the counsel can tell them,” Gleason said Monday. “When you have the same person in both capacities, the board doesn’t get that proper segregation of duties.”</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74042">Gleason believes some of Westlands’ recent issues may not have happened if its board had “another set of eyes and ears to advise” it. He added that the board still has more work to do. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74043">“The board needs to continue to evaluate the capabilities of its leadership, and, given the challenges, make a case that they have the right person making decisions.”</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 35px 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74044"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Lyon, Georgia, serif;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74045">Rory Appleton: <a href="tel:559-441-6015" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(13, 118, 186); text-decoration: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74046">559-441-6015</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/RoryDoesPhonics" target="_blank" title="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(13, 118, 186); text-decoration: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74047">@RoryDoesPhonics</a></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 1px; min-height: 1px; font-style: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-family: sans-serif; overflow: hidden;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74048"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467126911885_74063"><br></div></div></body></html>