Mistrust, misleading information and a communication breakdown between the Montezuma Water Company and its members hit the proverbial fan at the Tuesday board meeting.

Apologies for mistakes made and promises for improved relations were heartily declared by members and directors alike at the heated three-hour meeting in Dolores.

But the at-times strained niceties were overpowered by criticisms of board policies by several perturbed customers and directors. Among the contentious issues were board elections, voting rights, bylaws, meter-tampering rules, rate increases and lack of customer access to information about the rural water service.

"We have never had this much feedback on the company before," responded Mike Bauer, MWC manager. "So now that we are getting it, there is room for improvement. People are going to get more information than they ever wanted to see so they know we have nothing to hide."

That means a more informative newsletter that may need to be sent out more often than twice a year to the water company’s 3,500 members, Bauer said.

Also, he said, the board must take another look at whether certain issues, such as bylaw changes, should be voted on by all members, not just the board.

Two bylaw changes were made by the board recently — one to lift term limits because of difficulty getting candidates, and another enacting a anti-nepotism rule for the company, a common policy for businesses.

But announcing the changes after the vote had been taken raised the ire of many members, who formed a group advocating more participation from shareholders on major issues.

When criticized about charges of secrecy made in letters to local newspapers, Pat DeGagne responded that it was because her "questions were not being answered. Take term limits being lifted — members need to have a vote on issues like that."

The voting procedures could change, Bauer said. "If that is what people want, then we may need to do that. I admit the changes we made could have been done with better timing."

Uninformed, uninterested or absent members can vote by proxy on larger issues, meaning that members can entrust someone else to vote for them at a meeting where a critical decision will be made, such as a rate change or expansion plan.

At least 5 percent of MWC members need to be represented, either by proxy or in person, for voting to take place.

Large service organizations or corporations dealing with the arcane nuances of water delivery, finance, or energy distribution offer proxy voting as an efficient way to do business while giving their shareholders a voice.

Using proxies works well, board attorney Rick Beisel said, for preserving voting rights.

But the process breaks down, said director Dan Fernandez, when proxies are obtained by members who spread false information to get them.

"That is unethical in my opinion," Fernandez said.

"But we think you have been unethical when the rules were changed," without a membership-wide vote, countered company member Wade Green. "For the board to decide to remove term limits from itself was wrong."

Proxies can cause confusion in that they have the appearance of stacking the voting power of the person collecting them. But that perception is misguided, Beisel advised, and misses the true intent of giving every member a vote, which they can use as they see fit.

For the sake of expediency, often the MWC board will choose to vote itself on what the members view as relatively minor rules, regulations or bylaws. To avoid controversy, it was suggested that a mail-in ballot be used instead to insure fairness when important decisions are voted on, but costs could be prohibitive, the board said.

Rumor-mill dynamics, bolstered by a flier distributed by disgruntled MWC members with erroneous information, contributed to growing membership suspicion, many said.

"I apologize for that," said Don Etnier, a member of the group that worked on the informational flier about the company. "What was sent out was a draft version we were still checking on, and it was wrongly leaked by someone, who is unknown to me, before it was finished.

"The point is that many of the concerns are true, have come to light now, and need to be addressed."

Promising improvement, director Wes Wilson admitted board efforts to inform members of bylaw changes in a timely manner had been "lax." And there was general agreement among the board members that existing problems need more attention and will not go away until solved cooperatively.

One such problem is tampering with water meters.

More education is needed regarding what constitutes tampering, and the safety problems it can cause, the board said. Whether accidental or intentional, breaking the metering devices and valves could cause a backflow of contaminants such as cattle waste or fertilizer into a domestic water supply.

"That’s a liability for us and we have to protect the public by deterring that activity through increased education," Bauer said.

A tag will be fastened to each meter informing members of the $500 fine for tampering.

It was noted that rural water-users have a long tradition of turning off water themselves for various reasons at the meter.

The board agreed that turning off the valve by the tap’s owner does not necessarily constitute tampering, but "we still want them to call us so our service technicians can do that. It is easy to break the line while shutting it off, again causing a contamination possibility," Bauer said.

Clear tampering violations include removing check valves designed to prevent backflow, creating an open line to a closed system, pressure-regulator adjusting, or breaking lines without informing the company.

Newer meters have a separate shut-off valve installed for customer convenience and system safety, but installing them for older meters would be expensive.

"I think this is something the company may want to spend money on in order to avoid problems," suggested director Glen Fish.

A newcomer expressed dismay at what he saw as limited "openness or cooperation" within the company.

"Questions need to be answered in a more friendly manner," he said. "My water tap is the most important part of my property and my concern grows when I see a bunch of unproductive infighting."