|
Now We Really Have a Water Leak |
|
by Dr. Joe Dunn and Dr. Carl Mumpower
Asheville Citizen-Times
Contrary
to common understanding, we had three floods this year. Two were
courtesy of hurricanes. A third, producing damage that will linger far
longer, came at the hands of elected officials. Through political
shenanigans that find manipulation masquerading as leadership and
public regard, the opportunity to craft a water agreement grounded in
facts and fairness was lost. With a persisting interest in open and
authentic negotiations on a regional authority or city managed system,
we thought it might be helpful to splash a little cold water on the
truth.
Did you know that Asheville is the only sizeable city in
North Carolina that does not manage its own water assets? It's also
interesting to note that every other City in Buncombe County owns and
manages their water assets and charge an average of 80% higher rates to
non-city water users. Asheville's water realities are being sold as a
unique when in truth the only unique thing about Asheville is that it
is being sold out.
The citizens of Asheville legally own a water
system which has a conservatively appraised value of over $750,000,000.
Unlike cars, houses, and other assets that loose value over time,
crucial infrastructure is appraised at the costs of replacement because
it can't be discarded or traded in. Buncombe County's Commissioners and
our State Legislative Delegation have been working together to insure
that Asheville Citizens loose all realistic control of this asset. It
doesn't seem to matter that Asheville residents pay double the taxes of
county residents or that taking something without fa!
ir compe
nsation is
a form of theft regardless of accompanying spin.
How did it
happen? For starters, when Asheville said it would like to join with
every other City in North Carolina and assume responsibility for
managing its water assets, it upset some folks. It didn't matter that
our existing agreement was passing on maintenance costs to our children
or that the present water authority and the County Commission had
refused to support any sort of maintenance budget for two years. What
did matter was habit–a habit of County residents getting rates that,
for years, have been subsidized by City residents. It costs far more to
ship water to the County because of lower density, distance, and line
costs and, with an eye on their pocket books, most County were happy to
get the break–fair or not.
The charade began with an expensive
County Commission "Muddy Waters Misinformation Campaign" designed to
increase fears and cloud the issues. It worked–for the short-term. Next
came a threat by our Legislative delegation to intrude on local
government affairs. Finally, we had what a candid man would define as a
back room conspiracy between the County and our Legislators whereby the
County attorney drafted the legislation that would be used to trump
Asheville. As a result, all incentive to negotiate around facts and
fairness was lost, action was replaced by motion, and the long slippery
slide into dangerous waters began.
The County and our
Legislators had help along the way. The media largely chose to overlook
the County's misinformation campaign, intrusion on local government by
our Legislators, and conspiracy between these officials to trump the
negotiation process with co-written legislation. With persisting
encouragement to substitute being nice for principled leadership, the
media joined the parade and gave a blank check to those who were
willing to impair our !
ability
to craft an agreement fair to City and
County residents. You rarely get to good places through bad means, and
the endorsement of politics over principles helped illuminate the show
over solutions.
For now, the County Commission can claim to have
fought the good fight for County residents. Forgetting that City
residents are also County residents, they seem to have overlooked a
large group of constituents. Likewise, our Legislators, having
perfected their responsibilities in Raleigh, have now played a part in
saving the day here at home. White hats can be passed all around and
the participants can sit down with a tall drink of cool water, safe in
the knowledge that old traditions have been preserved and the City of
Asheville has been thwarted in their greedy efforts to do harm to the
County. Unfortunately that period of rest will be short-lived. For
instead of an agreement crafted in facts and fairness, the County and
our Legislators have assured that one of the next places we sit down
will be in a court of law or at the table of surrender. The division,
costs, and lost opportunities created through either reality will flood
our communities for years. Through the dysfunctional agreement or
expensive courtrooms that linger just over our murky horizon we will
find that the water has a bitter taste no matter who controls it?
|
