Assemblymen Townsend and Butler have offered a water "compromise" between the Mohawk Valley Water Authority and the State Canal Corp.: Place all the payments sought by Canal Corp. in escrow, with the money ultimately to be paid out to the winner of the pending lawsuit. This would allow expansion of the water system into outlying areas.
Uh .. Guys ... Hey! Did you forget about US? (Who?) US .. THE RATE PAYERS. .. The ones who will be expected to come up with the $600,000 + to pay for this "deal" ... The ones who will receive NO benefit from this deal. No matter who "wins" the lawsuit, the ratepayers lose because they will have already paid the money. (And no, in the unlikely event MVWA wins, we don't expect it to give the money back to the ratepayers -- it will probably just expand its staff).
If people need water to grow homes and businesses, let them come to Utica and environs where water service is already in place. Don't expect US to pay to expand the system into outlying areas just so the politically well connected can go forward with their developments.
Interesting how these guys solve a problem with NARY A THOUGHT about the people paying the bills ... All too typical thinking from our State Capital. Perhaps Messrs. Townsend and Butler have been drinking the Albany water too long ...
Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Economic+Development Environment Government Regionalization Utica Water+Supply
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