Eric Mettler
Challenger Eric Mettler is running for EID Division 4 in El Dorado County, California. Election day is November 3, 2026.
My Name is Eric Mettler
I am running for the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) Board of Directors, in Division 4. I have been endorsed by the GOP, and I am seeking your vote.
I am a fiscally conservative, retired Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Board member/Business leader/Grand Jury member, with extensive experience managing and controlling businesses enterprises, all of which I believe will aid EID and be an asset to the ratepayers;
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with extensive experience in corporate governance, strategic planning, financial management, public accounting/reporting and organizational leadership; directing enterprise-wide operations including engineering, manufacturing, construction, business development, sales, marketing, and human resources. Executive communicator skilled at building consensus among boards, investors, executive leadership, employees, customers, and public stakeholders through clear communication, collaborative leadership, and principled decision-making. Project Controls Executive with expertise utilizing Earned Value Management (EVM) and integrated project controls to improve forecasting accuracy, schedule performance, cost control, and executive decision-making.
• Board Director experienced in corporate governance, policy development, strategic oversight, executive accountability, fiscal stewardship, regulatory compliance, and long-range organizational planning.
• California Civil Grand Juror entrusted with conducting independent investigations of county government operations, evaluating organizational performance, identifying waste, inefficiencies, and management deficiencies, and producing recommendations that improve transparency, accountability, and public service.
I have lived in Cameron Park for more than three decades and have been very concerned about the dramatic increases in water bills/rates over that time. Of even more concern is what EID is doing lately. As you may know:
• EID plans to spend $800 million over the next five years on capital projects
• increase debt by another $213 million
• increase operating expenses 37%
Their plan is for ratepayers to pay for these increases by increased rates. In fact, the Board has already approved raising rates 12 to 18% per year through 2033.
Let that marinate a minute . . . . EID water rates have already doubled since 2018 –
and they will re-double again by 2031 under EID's present, board approved, five-year financial plan. What that means to you and I is significant increases. If you paid $600 for water in 2018, it’s now $1,200 and will be $2,400 in 2031! School districts, CSD's, Community Centers and Country Clubs, with $200,000 annual water bills in 2018 will pay $800,000 in 2031.
Ratepayers elect the board. I do not know how the board, in all good consciousness, could claim that the rate increases they approved, juxtaposed against California construction costs, El Dorado County Wages and Sacramento MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area, officially Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA MSA) Consumer Price Index (CPI) are justifiable or desirable. Before asking ratepayers to bear that burden, the Board has a responsibility to ensure every project is:
• Necessary, and whether projects meet rigid cost benefit criteria, are appropriately timed and prioritized and managed with rigorous financial, scope and schedule oversight;
• Whether alternatives have been adequately evaluated;
• How projects will be financed;
• How much debt is appropriate;
• What level of reserves is prudent; and
• How proposed expenditures will affect future water and sewer rates.I do not believe that most of the members of the current EID board have made these analyses, set the policy, provided the necessary financial oversight, made appropriate infrastructure decisions, provided proper oversight to leadership, ensured accountability or represented their constituents, the ratepayers. Nor have they met the public accountability requirements or met their fiduciary duties. For example, emanating from public complaint, El Dorado County's 2025 Civil Grand Jury performed an extensive study on EID and found that (quote): "The EID Board collectively has lacked sufficient financial expertise and engagement to provide adequate financial oversight".
Keep in mind, EID board members are elected by us, the ratepayers. They are our elected officials. If they were doing their jobs, I do not believe ratepayers would be facing water bills that are potentially higher than some ratepayers mortgage payments!
Ratepayers deserve better.
Ratepayers deserve a Board that provides oversight—not simply approval. I would bring the experience, independence, and determination necessary to provide that oversight and leadership.
I encourage EID Division 4 ratepayers to vote for Mettler on or before November 3, 2026, so that we can begin correcting the out-of-control, unsustainable situation.
I am running for the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) Board of Directors, in Division 4. I have been endorsed by the GOP, and I am seeking your vote.
I am a fiscally conservative, retired Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Board member/Business leader/Grand Jury member, with extensive experience managing and controlling businesses enterprises, all of which I believe will aid EID and be an asset to the ratepayers;
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with extensive experience in corporate governance, strategic planning, financial management, public accounting/reporting and organizational leadership; directing enterprise-wide operations including engineering, manufacturing, construction, business development, sales, marketing, and human resources. Executive communicator skilled at building consensus among boards, investors, executive leadership, employees, customers, and public stakeholders through clear communication, collaborative leadership, and principled decision-making. Project Controls Executive with expertise utilizing Earned Value Management (EVM) and integrated project controls to improve forecasting accuracy, schedule performance, cost control, and executive decision-making.
• Board Director experienced in corporate governance, policy development, strategic oversight, executive accountability, fiscal stewardship, regulatory compliance, and long-range organizational planning.
• California Civil Grand Juror entrusted with conducting independent investigations of county government operations, evaluating organizational performance, identifying waste, inefficiencies, and management deficiencies, and producing recommendations that improve transparency, accountability, and public service.
I have lived in Cameron Park for more than three decades and have been very concerned about the dramatic increases in water bills/rates over that time. Of even more concern is what EID is doing lately. As you may know:
• EID plans to spend $800 million over the next five years on capital projects
• increase debt by another $213 million
• increase operating expenses 37%
Their plan is for ratepayers to pay for these increases by increased rates. In fact, the Board has already approved raising rates 12 to 18% per year through 2033.
Let that marinate a minute . . . . EID water rates have already doubled since 2018 –
and they will re-double again by 2031 under EID's present, board approved, five-year financial plan. What that means to you and I is significant increases. If you paid $600 for water in 2018, it’s now $1,200 and will be $2,400 in 2031! School districts, CSD's, Community Centers and Country Clubs, with $200,000 annual water bills in 2018 will pay $800,000 in 2031.
Ratepayers elect the board. I do not know how the board, in all good consciousness, could claim that the rate increases they approved, juxtaposed against California construction costs, El Dorado County Wages and Sacramento MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area, officially Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA MSA) Consumer Price Index (CPI) are justifiable or desirable. Before asking ratepayers to bear that burden, the Board has a responsibility to ensure every project is:
• Necessary, and whether projects meet rigid cost benefit criteria, are appropriately timed and prioritized and managed with rigorous financial, scope and schedule oversight;
• Whether alternatives have been adequately evaluated;
• How projects will be financed;
• How much debt is appropriate;
• What level of reserves is prudent; and
• How proposed expenditures will affect future water and sewer rates.I do not believe that most of the members of the current EID board have made these analyses, set the policy, provided the necessary financial oversight, made appropriate infrastructure decisions, provided proper oversight to leadership, ensured accountability or represented their constituents, the ratepayers. Nor have they met the public accountability requirements or met their fiduciary duties. For example, emanating from public complaint, El Dorado County's 2025 Civil Grand Jury performed an extensive study on EID and found that (quote): "The EID Board collectively has lacked sufficient financial expertise and engagement to provide adequate financial oversight".
Keep in mind, EID board members are elected by us, the ratepayers. They are our elected officials. If they were doing their jobs, I do not believe ratepayers would be facing water bills that are potentially higher than some ratepayers mortgage payments!
Ratepayers deserve better.
Ratepayers deserve a Board that provides oversight—not simply approval. I would bring the experience, independence, and determination necessary to provide that oversight and leadership.
I encourage EID Division 4 ratepayers to vote for Mettler on or before November 3, 2026, so that we can begin correcting the out-of-control, unsustainable situation.
