Getting and Keeping
Your Governing
Board on Board
NC AWWA-WEA 88th Annual Conference
November 16, 2015
Ed Kerwin, Executive Director
Orange Water and Sewer Authority
A public, non-profit agency providing water, sewer and
reclaimed water services to the Carrboro-Chapel Hill
community in North Carolina.
OWASA
Chapel Hill/Carrboro/UNC
Greensboro
Durham
Raleigh
Charlotte
Fayetteville
Wilmington
Orange Water and Sewer Authority
Orange Water and
Sewer Authority
 82,000 people
 21,000 accounts
 UNC 22% of sales
 20 MGD Water
Treatment Plant
 14.5 MGD
Wastewater
Treatment Plant
 3 MGD Reclaimed
Water System
OWASA Governance
Customers
Board of Directors
●
●
●
●
Auditor
9 Members
Sets policy
Approves budgets & rates
Issues revenue bonds
Executive
Director
Appointed by
Elected Boards
General
Counsel
10 Attributes of Effectively Managed Utilities
Operational
Optimization
Operational
Resiliency
Community
Sustainability
Infrastructure
Stability
Stakeholder
Understanding
& Support
Water
Resource
Adequacy
Customer
Satisfaction
Financial
Viability
Employee &
Leadership
Development
Product
Quality
Governing Board
• Variety of backgrounds, experiences, knowledge,
values and perspectives
• They want to be successful
• They want to be respected
• Most want to be “engaged”
• Most are well-intentioned and want to help
Keys to Success
Keys to Success
 Earn your Board’s trust and confidence
 Communicate, communicate, communicate
 Actively seek feedback in the spirit of continuous
improvement
 Act on feedback …
Earn Your Board’s Trust and Confidence
• Open
• Honest
• Integrity
• Respectful
• Accountable
• Dependable
• Competent
• Walk the Talk
I used to lead by example,
but it was too much work.
Being Open, Transparent
Our Board said: “Show us all the details and assumptions
in your draft O&M Budget.”
We provided a prioritized list of every discretionary
expense item in our draft O&M Budget.
Our Board said: “Okay, thanks.”
Communicate, communicate, communicate
• Provide the information they need to effectively do their job
• Open, accurate, relevant, timely and complete
• Be sure information is meaningful from Board’s
perspective, not just yours
• Keep it simple
• Share bad news as quickly as good news, always with a
story of a positive future
• Effective communications always includes active
listening, clarify understandings and expectations
Actively Listen
• Clarify your understanding of what the Board (as a
whole) is saying
• Clarify your understanding of what the Board (as a
whole) is expecting
• Summarize what you will do – make sure you and the
Board are on the same page
We do this at all Committee and Board meetings
Actively Seek Feedback
• How are we doing?
• What did you like (about our report/presentation/project) that
we should continue?
• What can we do better next time?
• Be sure to act on the feedback
• My Board discusses my performance with me every 6 months
When decisions are needed
• Plan ahead (we use a 12 month schedule which is
reviewed monthly)
• Understand what’s important to the Board and other
stakeholders
• Provide options/alternatives when you can
• Be objective and balanced about pros and cons
• Provide clear staff recommendation and your rational
• When the decision is made, get behind your Board and
move on…
Information
• Accurate, complete, relevant and timely
• Keep it simple
• Keep it short
• Numbers tell a
story
• Pictures /
graphics tell a
story
• One page
position paper
on key items
Dashboards
“Stop-Light” Report – Capital Improvements Projects
Tips
• Formal orientation program for new Board Members
• Treat all Board members alike; make sure they have the
same information; feed it back to everyone
• Show your understanding of their issues and challenges
(in their shoes)
• Meet expectations of the majority, respect the minority
(can’t please everyone)
• Ask for the Board’s guidance when needed
Approved OWASA Rate Increases
2007
2008
2009
2010
10%
17%
10%
9%
How did we do it?
Informed, involved
and engaged
Board of Directors
OWASA’s Board Understood:
• what needed to be done to sustain utility (short- and longterm);
• options and alternatives to varying rate increases;
• the consequences of their actions (or inactions); and
• our story of a positive future.
2012 Customer Satisfaction Survey
Key Take-Aways
 Stakeholder (your governing Board) understanding
and support – an essential part of the 10 Attributes
of Effectively Managed Utilities
 Earn Your Board’s trust and confidence
 Communicate, communicate, communicate
 Actively seek feedback
 Act on feedback
Ed Kerwin
Executive Director
ekerwin@owasa.org
919-537-4211
Orange Water and Sewer Authority
400 Jones Ferry Road
Carrboro, NC 27510
919-968-4421
www.owasa.org
A public, non-profit agency providing water, sewer and reclaimed water
services to the Carrboro-Chapel Hill community in North Carolina.