The copy of the report was first made public by the Asheville Citizen-Times on their website. Stay tuned for more details as officials, activists and residents respond.
Also made public today were supporting documents, including an appendix to the draft report.
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Reading this, it is clear that the City of Asheville itself is being identified as the cause of most of today's water concerns. Differential pricing for non-City residents allows, per the report, allowed Asheville to pursue involuntary annexation. Or at least that is the charge (among others).
As tedious as it was, the report does contain some interesting historical information relating to water issues.
By Dionysis
04/13/2012
D,
You're awesome for reading through it!
What you may have missed is the fact that most other communities ask non-residents to come into a municipality in order to receive services from them. Asheville, of course, has not ever been able to do that. We can't do it now, and we haven't been able to do it. This "remedy" is for a problem that does not exist.
Here are a host of facts about the water system that aren't included in the study committee report: http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2012/02/20/ashevilles-water-system/
By Gordon Smith
04/13/2012
The draft made mention of the Asheville Buncombe League of Women Voters opinion on this matter but left out an important part of our position.
To clarify the LWV’s position;
“The LWV did support the Regional Water Agreement in the past, but that agreement was made between the entities involved. So ABLWV was not supporting state legislation. ABLWV did support a regional approach to water management.
Davyne Dial member ABLWV
By D. Dial
04/14/2012
Interesting moment today from the "Hands Off Buncombe's Water" press conference. After Elaine Lite pointed out that the Draft Report hadn't been released yet, in violation of Tim Moffitt's promise, a man in the audience waved a stack of papers, & informed us that the Draft Report had indeed been released.
Elaine & the others at the podium replied that the report hadn't been released yet. The man insisted, but then looked at his watch, & immediately backtracked & said it would be published online "in three minutes". Nervous laughter swept the room.
He went on to ask pointed & somewhat accusatory questions of the panel, while refusing to let others read his alleged copy of the Draft Report. After the press conference was over, he convinced the reporter from WLOS that the Draft Report in fact did not recommend seizing Asheville's water system. The WLOS reporter dutifully went out in front of Pack Place & did his noon stand up - "If reports are true, the water issue may be over"...
Never once did this person acknowledge that his current employer is... Moffitt International. We had to find this out by stumbling across his 'Linked In' profile.
By Barry Summers
04/14/2012
Go ahead, Asheville . . . raise my rates.
Bang!
.......................
By timothypeck
04/14/2012
You so have choices. You could always move to that free market bastion of Singapore, which is what you advocated everyone do right after Obama was elected. Remember?
I wonder what they pay for water?
By Dionysis
04/14/2012
By
A revenge fantasy and a political philosophy are two different things, Mr. Peck. Forgive whoever did what to you and live again.
By sharpleycladd
04/14/2012
...also, you are a renter, not a home-owner.
By bill smith
04/15/2012
Okay, I'll bite. What does "Bang!" signify? Some might construe that to be a threat of violence.
Well, if you're mad about possible water rate increases, as Moffitt's mole at our press conference yesterday might say, get informed before you express an opinion.
The MSD Director has said in plain english that if they take over the water system, all users can expect rate increases in the near future.
"Regarding MSD taking over Asheville’s water system, Hartye said the city system was well-run. There would be a few efficiencies if MSD took over, but officials running the sewer system would likely recommend an increase in the spending on maintenance and new construction.
"That could mean the current 125,000 city and noncity water customers would see small annual increases of the same kind sewerage customers experience, said the MSD director."
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012303220019
The City is contemplating no rate increases that I know of, now that they reduced the subsidized rate that they give to large users. BTW, the City currently funnels something like $6.5 million of ratepayer revenue towards maintenance, on top of the $40 million they just finished spending on maintenance & upgrades. What sort of "new construction" does the MSD plan on charging you for, and will you have any say in it, or can you vote out the people who will jack up your rates? Unlike the City Council, the answer to that last one is "No."
So Tim(1) - "Bang?"
By Barry Summers
04/15/2012
"The City is contemplating no rate increases that I know of"
Then you have short term memory. Or it depends on the meaning of "is."
City council DID "contemplate" water rate increases and then changed its collective mind after Moffitt introduced the water study bill.
Also, I'm sure water customers would rather see revenues go to system operations and improvements rather than the city's general fund for local boondoggle projects.
....................
By timothypeck
04/15/2012
You've failed to clarify your apparent threat of violent reprisals for water rate increases, or to respond to the fact that the MSD has already essentially promised to raise your rates if they get the water system.
By Barry Summers
04/15/2012
Zero dollars from the water system go to the City's general fund. We can use up to 5% of water revenues for infrastructure improvements relating to water system improvements. In practice this means resurfacing a road if it's been torn up to replace water lines or putting in sidewalk after water line installation or repair. This is what's allowed by the General Assembly, and it's what we do. We're following all the rules, and there's broad agreement among City and County governments that the current management structure is working very well. Rep. Moffitt's "study" is a solution in search of a problem.
By Gordon Smith
04/15/2012
Also, I'm sure water customers would rather see revenues go to system operations and improvements rather than the city's general fund for local boondoggle projects.
This is one of the lies floating around, like the "City wants to quadruple water rates for County users" lie that is written into the draft report.
Tim(1), as Gordon said, the City is, and has been for years, barred by law from using water revenues for anything but the water system. You are either wildly ignorant or deliberately lying when you trot this propaganda around.
By Barry Summers
04/15/2012
MSD did some extended work on Coleman Ave. recently...and if there is a 5% allowance for resurfacing the road after work, I must say the Coleman Ave resurfacing is stupifyingly bad workmanship for the 5% being used to do repairs.
By D. Dial
04/15/2012
Re: road resurfacing - MSD currently has a contract with Asheville city crews to repair paving after sewer work is done.
By cnw4
04/16/2012
So what are you saying - they should raise rates to spend more on maintenance? Well, guess what - that's what MSD has already said they will do if they take over the water system.
By Barry Summers
04/16/2012
Not sure what Tim meant by Bang! but I like it. And the fact that it apparently offended some easily offended people. Bang!
Here's an idea to kick around.. Years ago, Athens and Clarke County GA created a unified govt. it became Athens/Clarke County. Saved money by eliminating duplication of services (such as police, fire...) and differential rates, etc...
By john
08/10/2012