Winnipeg's new utility

The Canadian city of Winnipeg's long-running saga about the creation of a new water utility seems over. After a marathon session, city council voted in favour of creating an arm's-length utility to manage Winnipeg's water and waste services. After a day that began with protests against water privatization outside city hall, a sometimes packed council chamber gallery heard barbed exchanges among councillors and accusations of grandstanding as the motion to create the new utility was passed by a 10-6 margin.

“(Today) I witnessed a display of hypocrisy and doublespeak that has become synonymous with the self-proclaimed official opposition to progress in our city,” Katz said during the meeting. “The sky isn't red, the world isn't flat, we're not privatizing water.”

City administrators have said the business-like, city-owned agency -- to be overseen by a board outside the city bureaucracy and possibly partnered with a private engineering firm -- might help the city better handle costs such as an estimated $600-million bill for planned upgrades to North End and South End water pollution control centres. Under the new arrangement, the city may work with private companies to complete sewage-plant upgrades and could partner with other municipalities to share infrastructure.

An estimated crowd of nearly 200 people converged this morning on the Main Street complex – the vast majority of them hoping to sway Mayor Sam Katz and councillors against a plan to launch a municipal utility. Numerous delegations also spoke to council at the meeting which stretched from 9:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., when the motion on the new utility was passed.

Council debated the core issue, several amendments to the utility motion and a motion – which was defeated – to defer the vote until fall after more public consultation and research could be undertaken. Several amendments to the utility motion were also passed including one that would require a referendum on any move to sell or privatize the municipal water utility, another that lays out rules for agreements between the city and capital region municipalities and for dealing with strategic partners and a third that keeps the setting of water and sewer rates under the city's control for the time being.

Saving water

Americans can save some of the 225 billion gallons of water (852 billion liters) wasted each year through over-watering by installing smart systems which deliver just the right amount of moisture. Homeowners and companies over-water their grass and plants by between 30 and 300 percent, said Chris Spain, chief sustainability officer at water management company HydroPoint, citing a report by the American Water Works Association.

"The reason for the waste is because of dumb technology," Spain said. "There are 45 million irrigation systems in the U.S. (controlled) by simple timers. They do a great job of keeping time but a lousy job of irrigating to what the land requires." City landscaping, or "urban irrigation," makes up 58 percent of urban water use, Spain said, adding that the water wasted generates over 544,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually.

Smart irrigation systems are programed to optimize water use based on parameters including plant and soil types and amount of sunlight, and also feature weather sensors that monitor soil moisture levels following rainfall.

Getting the bills right

Thousands of property owners in Maricopa County may have paid an incorrect amount on their property taxes. The Maricopa County Assessor Keith Russell has launched a review of all of the county’s records. It is the first review of property tax records since 1994.

According to the Associated Press, the city of Chandler has already found 248 errors in their property tax rolls. Peoria has found around 1,000 mistakes. “We do pay a lot so if there is an error, I would want it to be known,” said Pheonix property owner Victor Harris. “That would concern me a lot,” added Ivan Huish, who owns property in Mesa.

Possible errors on the rolls might include being incorrectly listed as a resident of Phoenix or Tempe, which may have higher municipal tax rates than the city where the home actually exists. Property tax billing software can only do so much. A bill can still be calculated consistently if the valuation parameters provided are incorrect.

City Halls struggle to contain deficits

Peoria and other cities in Illinois are facing difficult decisions to fend off effects of the recession. In Champaign, not only is Chief Illiniwek gone but so are 19 city government positions, and residents are paying more for cable TV and to retrieve their impounded car. Joliet officials have projected a three-year $67 million deficit and, as a result, 90 fewer employees are working in city government today than last year. Springfield is requiring its employees to take eight unpaid furlough days next year. Sales tax also is going up in the Capital City.

Peoria is hardly alone in battling the crippling effect the recession is having on city halls throughout the U.S. and, especially, Illinois. Local and county governments throughout the state are scrambling to find ways to generate enough money to stay afloat during these tough times without sacrificing public safety, road construction and basic services that range from inspecting structurally unsound buildings to picking up stray dogs from neighborhood streets. "It's far worse than anything I've seen," said Larry Frang, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League. He's been with the league since 1974.

Locally, growth cities such as Washington are holding off on hiring new employees until the economy begins to show signs of recovery. East Peoria is contemplating scaling back its Festival of Lights events. Pekin recently introduced two new taxes on packaged liquor and food and beverages. In Peoria, the city's $10 million deficit has city officials pondering what can be done to restructure government. That means the public can expect immediate changes to the way yard waste is collected, library services and local arts awareness.

Indianapolis Water's credit costs swell

Indianapolis Water's investment meltdown is hitting customers again. Moody's Investors Service cut the credit rating Friday on $920 million in bonds the utility had sold to lenders. Taking the credit rating down to A3 from A1 will raise future borrowing costs an undetermined amount for a utility that just increased water prices for its 1 million customers.

Moody's said the lower credit rating results in part from the recent decision by state regulators to allow only a 12.27 percent increase in water rates instead of the full 17.6 percent increase sought by Indianapolis Water. The utility had sought the emergency rate increase to make sure it had enough money to pay debts, carry out improvements and meet loan terms it had with bondholders.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved a rate increase June 30 but refused the full 17.6 percent level. The commission said the water utility had not explained why the full increase was necessary. IURC also contended the water utility was poorly managed and should try to recover the money without burdening customers. Indianapolis Water was hammered when the meltdown on Wall Street set off a credit crisis in global markets. This in turn raised the utility's debt payments to $57.3 million a year from $32.1 million, Moody's reported.

The water utility's payments soared because it had earlier refinanced its debts in a way that allowed the interest on the debt to fluctuate with the market. But once the credit crunch set in, interests rate shot up automatically, not only for Indianapolis Water but for municipal agencies throughout the country.

Raising water rates in Kansas

If Wichita KA City Council members don't raise water rates now, they will likely have to do it later, water officials said Tuesday. That's because the utility's bond rating is on the brink of a downgrade that, based on city estimates, could lead to $36 million in increased interest rates. The only alternative would be to delay or shut down the aquifer recharge project that local officials have said for years is key to the city's future.

Council members greeted this news with skepticism Tuesday, noting that interest rates could fluctuate anyway. But they showed little interest in four other options, including a property tax increase. Instead, they poised themselves to vote on a $2 base rate increase for all water customers and a 5 percent usage increase every year through 2013. The city is stuck in this bind because rainy weather has led to less water usage, which means the utility has less cash to pay off debt on major projects. Finance officials plan to study how decreased water use might affect the utility's budget. The council will examine that next week and likely vote on an increase in two weeks. If approved, the rate increases could start in August. The water billing software rate tables will be adjusted accordingly.

The Community Infrastructure Program

The Australian Government has announced an additional $220 million nation-building investment in community infrastructure, to be made available in 2009-10.

This funding injection builds on the $800 million currently being delivered through the Community Infrastructure Program (CIP), the largest federal investment in local community infrastructure.

The funding will assist councils to build and modernise community facilities, including town halls, libraries, community centres, sports grounds and environmental infrastructure. By renewing and upgrading local infrastructure, the government hopes to support local jobs during the global economic recession and provide long-term benefits to communities.

The $220 million injection into the CIP will be delivered as follows: $100 million is being allocated to all 565 of Australia's councils on a formula basis and $120 million for larger Strategic Projects will be available on a competitive basis.

Indebtedness

The borrowing spree of the last few years is catching up with the public sector just like everyone else. In Mississippi Gulfport administration estimates the city needs to increase water and sewer rates a minimum of 15 percent for the upcoming fiscal year to cover debt payments. Finance Director Mike Necaise said all localities in Harrison County, not just Gulfport, will soon have to grapple with how to meet the costs of utility payments coming due.

When Katrina hit, the Harrison County utility authority, composed of the county and its five cities, decided to defer debt payments for two years. Necaise said the authority had about $100 million in debt at the time. The debt, he said, was refinanced at 7.5 percent, compared to the previous rate of 5 percent.

The deferred payments plus the higher interest rate mean Gulfport can no longer meet its debt payments with current revenue. Taking the money out of the city’s general fund is not viewed as an option. Incoming Mayor George Schloegel said he supports the rate increase over a property tax increase. He believes utility customers should pay for the service rather than all Gulfport property owners. “It’s consumption driven,” said Schloegel, who on Monday takes office along with a new City Council. “It’s got to be user-based. That’s the only equitable way.”

Permit fraud!

The New York Times reports that the thriving black market in illegal New York City food vending permits took a blow on Tuesday morning when six people were arrested as a result of multiple sting operations by the city’s Department of Investigation. Sotirios Econopouly, 71; Fernando Quesnay, 52; Ifigenia Tsatsaronis, 40; Jacob Shimon, 46; Nikhil Dhameliya, 23; and Adamadia Arabatzis, 48, were charged with multiple counts of fraud.

The six were working various angles of the underground market, according to criminal complaints filed Tuesday. Mr. Econopouly, the owner of Steve’s Sheet Metal in Queens, is accused of renting inspection-worthy carts to vendors whose own carts would have failed, then transferring the inspection decals to their carts. Mr. Dhameliya, a notary public, is charged with having notarized blank and pre-signed documents submitted with renewals of permits, which are valid for two years, can be renewed indefinitely by mail with the details entered into the city's permit billing software.

The probe concluded that at least 500 food-vendor permits of the approximately 3,000 now in circulation in the city are probably held illegally. Some of the permits are in the names of dead people; others are held by people who were no longer working in the vending business. Those cases have been reported to the city’s Health Department, which issues the permits as part of public sector billing.

Florida's water permits row

In Florida board members at the state's water-management districts grant permits for water consumption. One of the provisions of a new bill, signed into law by the State's governor, now strips appointed board members at the state's water-management districts of significant authority over permits for water consumption and wetland destruction.

The boards are composed of citizens appointment by the governor. Coupled with their ability to vote on water and wetlands permits are the public hearings they hold to consider controversial projects. The Bill is seen as a gift to developers and as a gag on environmentalists and citizens. The bill removes from public input the decisions of water management district boards on surface water and consumptive use permits. Environmentalists had urged Governor Crist to veto the Bill, arguing that by allowing those decisions to be made by the water management districts executive director, instead of the elected board, they will be shielded from public input and debate.

They also warned that the bill carves out special exemptions for certain large land holders to get 50-year permits to use Florida water with no public review.