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Torn Between Two Desires

By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, D.Min.
The Truth Contributor

Every intersection in the road of life is an opportunity to make a decision.

-  Duke Ellington

 

Rev. Donald L. Perryman, D.Min.

Grappling with the decision whether to go forward with the creation of the proposed regional Toledo Area Water Authority (TAWA) presents a quandary for Toledo City Councilman Tyrone Riley. The decision on moving a valuable long-term municipal asset from wholly-owned to a shared governance arrangement is expected to provide many benefits to, not only Toledo, but also eight other regional partners that would be a part of the new collaborative.

Yet Riley, although eagerly looking forward to the future, is not quite ready to let go of the past so easily. The councilman was willing to share his thoughts with me in a very frank discussion concerning his state of perplexity regarding proposed changes to governance of Toledo’s water. 

Perryman: Councilman, what is your take on the proposed TAWA agreement?

Riley:  Basically, I’m in favor of regional water. However, I want to make sure that the interests of Toledo’s taxpayers are protected. We don’t want to just give this water away and not receive anything in return.

The whole purpose of regional water, from the way they’re presenting it, seems just to equalize the rates between the suburbs and the city and everybody’s saying okay.  I’m saying in accomplishing that goal how do you get there and how is Toledo better off as a result? 

Perryman: According to the Memorandum of Understanding, the City of Toledo will have two positions and Lucas County receives one on a seven-member board that takes five votes to approve major action?

Riley: I don’t know if we can always look at that as 2+1, I think we can only look at it as 2. Right now, the city and county are on great terms, but that may not always be the case depending upon who’s the mayor and who the commissioners are.

Perryman:  The City of Waterville has already left the Toledo system for what they believe is a better long-term deal. Monroe County, Sylvania, Maumee, Perrysburg and Whitehouse are also said to be exploring other water supply options. Do you believe that these suburbs will not leave Toledo when their contracts expire in the next few years?

Riley:  Well, I think you have to take them individually, and I’m not saying that they won’t, but the thing is how are we benefitting as a result of the fact that the water our asset?  What do the suburban communities bring to the table?

Perryman: Well, let me answer that with a question. How will Toledo account for the lost revenue if the suburbs leave and still be able to perform the required upgrades and maintenance to Collins Park? So, it appears that the suburbs do have some leverage as a collective party to our “asset” and if they leave, will take one of the legs from under the current arrangement?

Riley:  Okay.  So it means that that’s the only leverage they have. That’s what they bring to the table.

Perryman: I’m saying how do we pay for $500 million of mandated upgrades?  

Riley: The water rates are going to go up. 

Perryman: Plus, our bond rating is going to deteriorate and the interest rates on any bonds we attempt to sell may make that financing prohibitive or extremely expensive. That’s the point.  We own the water, but the suburbs also have alternatives. 

Riley:  Okay, and I’m in agreement with that. 

Perryman: How do we do it?

Riley:  How?  The taxpayers pay it. 

Perryman: Man, our rates will go up so high…

Riley: You’re not asking me about how much the rates will be, you’re asking me how it will get financed, how it will get paid?  So your next question is, if the taxpayers pay for it, then are the water rates are going to increase?

Perryman: They’re going to increase tremendously, which leads me to the next question, what are we going to do to assist low-income residents in paying their water bills when their rates may increase to something like 300 percent. How do we assist the people who are not able to pay their bills so that we don’t have another Detroit where everybody’s getting their water cut off and people without water are living in unsanitary conditions?

Riley: The City of Detroit was desperate for money.  They needed money in order to help them get out of bankruptcy.  We’re not in bankruptcy, so at this point in time Toledo is on very sound financial footing. Our ratings are pretty decent, so we’re not in the same status as Detroit.  I’m just saying that we need to make sure that we’re getting what we’re entitled to receive. I think we need to ask more questions before we just agree to it. 

Why are we just agreeing to it?  Right now, the suburbs are threatening to leave.  Okay, if they leave then why aren’t we trying to put together a package to say ‘if you leave then this is our alternative – we’re going to do this, this and that’ as opposed to being afraid that they’re going to leave?  Why don’t we prepare for in case they leave so that we’re saying ‘listen, this is our asset, this is my house, you’re just renting?  If you decide you want to move and buy your own house then that’s what you do, but if you want to stay here this is what you have to pay. Now, it makes it easier for me if you stay and pay, but if you don’t stay and pay I’m prepared to foot this bill.’ 

Perryman: Is Toledo prepared should they leave?

Riley: Yes, we would be. It’s our house.

Perryman: What’s the plan? What’s the strategy?

Riley: That’s what we need to come up with, I agree. We need to put our heads together and come up with an internal plan in case they leave.

Perryman: And the next thing that’s so important to me, we have talked about Detroit, but let’s talk about Flint. Personally, I don’t see anything more important than protecting the health of our citizens. We’ve got to replace these lead service lines to protect the health of Toledo residents. If we go it alone, how do we fund lead service line replacement? How do we perform the required upgrades so that we don’t have the algae bloom problems? How do we help low income residents pay their water bills?  Those three things are, to me, hanging over our heads and have me concerned.  And that’s not to mention that if an entity contributes nearly 50 percent of the revenue to the water system why shouldn’t they have a voice in how the system is governed?  Why shouldn’t the suburbs have a voice in how the system is governed?

Riley: Well who’s putting in 50 percent?

Perryman: According to the data that I’ve seen, the suburbs pay approximately 50 percent of the water revenues, collectively.

Riley:  I’m not sure, and that’s a question we’ve asked, what percentage of TAWA will Toledo’s population represent?

Perryman: Shouldn’t Toledo be able to look in their own records to determine the impact or distribution of the revenues that are coming in for this water?

Riley:  Well listen, we’ve asked that question and I agree with you. We have asked that question and we’re waiting on the response. They haven’t supplied that information to us.

Perryman: Who are they? 

Riley:  Public utilities, the administration, Rothstein, no one.  No one has provided that, even though we’ve asked for it.

Perryman: Wow.

Riley:  And those are some of the questions that we need answers to and are important in terms of how we look at this.  I’m in favor of regional water, it’s just a matter of how do we get there?  Some of the questions that you’re asking, I’m saying why don’t we have answers to these questions?  Why do we have to go into this thing kind of like blindly and saying okay.  And that’s why I’m with you when you said listen, well what’s the plan?  Okay, shouldn’t we already have that in place? 

For instance, we don’t even know the value of our asset. What’s the value of the water treatment plant we have right now?  Then, Number 2, what is TAWA offering us for it? If it’s worth $5 million, do you want me to just give it to you or what are you offering? Nobody’s talking about that.  All we’re talking about is how strong their hand is. Well, I’ve got a pretty strong hand, too.  If it’s a negotiated type of situation, what are we bringing to the table to even make you want to partner with us? 

Perryman: Well, it is a high stakes poker game, metaphorically speaking. But at the same time the relationship also fits well with a business analogy because it does speak to transactional dealings with the purpose of mutual benefit. The suburbs are our customers and therefore make an independent choice whether to buy from you or from somebody else. So we have to look at what the effect would be if our customers go someplace else and our revenues drop.  Are we going to have to lay people off?  Are we going to have to go into some long-term debt arrangement to make these mandatory capital improvements?  Are there contingent legal liabilities where we could be sued for damages caused by these old lead pipe waterlines?  Are we going to have another Flint crisis? So you have to look at all that while you’re assessing your risks and preparing your financial forecast.

Riley:  The other factor too is where do we fit in?  We know what the suburbs look like and who they represent. How do we make TAWA represent us? How does our black community benefit from it?  Right now, say for instance, we seem to have a decent share of minority representation of African Americans, male and female. But what’s going to happen?  Will TAWA lay them off?  You lay them off and when I go inside this authority and they take me on tour and we start asking a question that we always ask when we see the workforce while traveling on the highway.

Perryman:  Where the black folks at?

Riley:  Talk to me. Talk to me. How do we look out for minority employees? For instance, look how the refuse department was transformed by the privatization of the trash. We privatized that and as a result how do African Americans get a job in the city today? It’s extremely difficult now.

Perryman: My primary concern has always workforce diversity and to make sure that it is satisfactorily addressed.

Riley: I definitely support TAWA. I just think that we need to make sure that we’re ready for this.  The question is Can you wrap your arms around it and say okay I support this and I know where we going?  I just don’t want to get where we’re going and only then start asking questions.

Perryman: Thanks Councilman Riley.

Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org

 

 
  

Copyright © 2018 by [The Sojourner's Truth]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 08/16/18 14:12:10 -0700.

 

 


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