Indianapolis pushes water privatization

[IndianaGreen]

Indianapolis pushes water privatization

by: Jason Jones
April 1 2010

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Republican Mayor Greg Ballard and the city administration are pushing to sell the city's publicly owned water and sewer utility to Citizens Gas, putting hundreds of union jobs at risk.

A recently released a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the privatization plan, and the sell-off plan itself, both were developed without public input or oversight.

After the fact, Mayor Ballard and Citizens Gas CEO Carey Lykins have held four public hearings on the sale. The second took place on March 29t at Aldersgate Free Methodist Church on the city's east side. The meeting, before a packed crowd, started off with Mayor Ballard and Lykins providing a PowerPoint presentation as one-dimensional as what many are calling their crackpot scheme.

What's at stake with this sell-off is hundreds of union jobs at Veolia, the company contracted by the city to manage and maintain the water utility. In addition, the jobs of customer service representatives and office staff at both Citizens and Veolia are on the chopping block.

Critics say the privatization plan is based on fuzzy math. According to the Memorandum, the city will gain $425 million on the sale, to go toward capital improvement projects to repair the city's infrastructure. However, that figure is contingent upon $170.6 million due at closing and then $92 million due on October 1, 2011. As part of this backroom deal, Citizens Gas will make payments of $262 million in cash over two years in lieu of property taxes, but this could hinge on the value of Citizens' surety bonds, the value of the Water Company headquarters if Citizens decides it does not want it, and up to $15 million based on some vaguely referenced cost sharing agreement.

The agreement also does not guarantee the safety and quality of the water, since there were no metrics to measure the quality of the water against any standards.

http://www.peoplesworld.org/indianapolis-pushes-water-privatization/

[LiberalFighter]

1. Does this need approval of the City County Council?

If so, how many of the Democrats are on board with the deal?

Should be interesting to see the outcome of elections next year in Indy.

[IndianaGreen]

2. The process is a torturous one

From OP:

There are two more public meetings on the sale and then the proposal goes to the Board of Waterworks, the Board of Public Works, the City-County Council, and last, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Committee, which has final authority to approve or reject the deal. More information is available at the city's web site.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Good!!

[indypaul]

4. The one big question remains

who and what group is waiting in the wings for Citizens to
spin-off the water utility minus debt? Yet another public-
private partnership where the public pays and the private
profits.