Holyoke - At the December 2, 2008 Council meeting, there was good news and bad news for those residents who are concerned about the runaway costs of the Sewer Department and their greedy requests for more and more rate increases.
In an 8-6 vote, the Council voted to increase the current sewer rate from 4.66/1000 gallons to $5.40/1000 gallons. The Roll Call was:
Voting for the 15% increase: Brunelle, Devine, Keane, Leahy, McGee, McGiverin, O'Neill and Welch
Voting against the increase: Jourdain, Lisi, Lopez, Pluta, Tallman and Whelihan. Councilor Purington was away at an out of town meeting but had voted against the increase in committee.
The rising rates are emphasizing the depth of the mistake that was the privatization plan. Under public control, there would have been far greater stability in rates as well as transparency in the costs. Unfortunately, the public is forced to pay for the mistake of the mayor and his Council supporters on this issue even though 57% of voters rejected this approach.
Now, to the good news! The plans of the purported experts that were hired by the mayor to advocate for privatization have not come to fruition. Projections of modest increases in the sewer rates that were originally billed have now morphed into a proposed chart of unconscionable future increases that the Sewer Department wishes to thrust upon the people with rates ending in the area of 7.50-8.00/1000 gallons.
To derail this outrageous schedule that would simply crush most lower and middle income residents, Councilor Jourdain filed an amendment to Chapter 90-90 of the Holyoke Code of Ordinances that would take the rate setting authority away from the DPW and place it with the City Council. This common sense measure makes your elected City Councilors directly responsible for setting the rates and directly accountable to the voters.
Councilor Jourdain was proud to announce that his ordinance change passed 13-1 and was signed by Mayor Sullivan into law. Only Joe McGiverin voted against allowing greater accountability of the sewer rates by the City Council.
"I could not be more proud of the quick action of my colleagues on this common sense reform measure that will require Councilors to take greater control over the rising costs of the operations of the sewer plant," Councilor Jourdain stated. Jourdain remarked, "The adoption of this law is a huge victory for ratepayers who now will have greater say through their elected representatives to make sure the sewer plant does not overspend and does not overcharge."
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