City Council Candidates Discuss Water & Sewer Fund
Two incumbents and three challengers discuss their views on "Fund 9."
Patch asked the candidates for the May 3 election to share their opinions on more than a dozen topics relating to the city.
In this installment, City Council candidates—incumbents John Correri and Randy Craig, and challengers James Lauer, Diane Lawder, Lori Maslin and Barbara Wagner—address the deficit in Fund 9, the water and sewer fund.
“To understand the structure to that debt and to keep the city compliant, sometimes you have to make that hard decision. This year, the mayor has taken that recommendation from the water and sewer commission and has placed it in the budget,” Correri said. “Will that be the same thing, when it reaches the goal line and we pass the budget? I don’t know. There are five others who will look at this and have their angle on it. But we’re working hard to try to keep it to the best for what we can do for the citizens of Havre de Grace.”
Correri said simply raising the water rates can’t be done without careful consideration of the consequences.
“We don’t want to be raising rates, because that sets off a whole series of things. But we also have commitments from the city to be able to pay down those debts. You can borrow. You can raise rates. You can take it from the general fund. But they all set things off in their own right,” Correri said. “The thing now is, the recommendation from the commission is in the budget. Let's see what happens when it reaches the goal line. We’ll let the council have their chance to work on it.”
“Water and sewer services are the most important thing a city does from a public safety standpoint,” Craig said. “Beyond the fire services, the fire hydrants don’t work if there isn’t water in it. From a public health and public safety standpoint, that’s the most important thing the city does.”
Craig said the city took the first risk with building the wastewater treatment plant. The risk is apparent, now, as permits requests are “way down.”
“You have your most fixed cost, your water service, tied to your most volatile revenue. We need to mitigate that, and there are several solutions to that, and we need to consider all of them, and we need to be flexible,” Craig said. “What works for one or two years, or in one or two business cycles, might not work in the next one, because this is a 20-year note. Five or six years from now, things might be a lot better, but you have to be prepared to go in another direction. Flexibility is important, and that takes communication with the businesses, the residents. City staff has a big part in that aspect, too.”
“We need water,” she said. “[The fund is] supposed to be self-sufficient and maintain itself. But in order to provide water to the city, [the plants] need to be fully functional.”
Her husband, who works at the water treatment plant, shares stories of the plant’s inadequacy.
“[Visitors] laugh at the equipment they have. They laugh at the valves they have. One day something’s going to happen, and we’re not going to have water to the city,” she said. “They need money. They need to be funded and get new equipment. It’s ridiculous. It’s antiquated, dilapidated and barely functional.”
As for the distribution of assets from Fund 9, Lawder doesn’t like the shell game aspect, comparing it to transferring money from a savings account to a checking account.
“I think I would have a problem with that,” she said. “When you have a fund that’s specifically for something, when you start playing with money, putting it here and putting it there, that money’s never going back.”
“I think we need to work at why it’s not operating in the black. Once we determine if it’s not operating in the black, find a way to operate it in the black,” she said.
Maslin thinks a number of city funds need to be explored.
“What is coming out of that water and sewer fund? Are we dividing amongst all the funds, employee costs, and we’re putting a little here and a little there? If we are, I don’t know. Maybe we need to look at how each of these funds is operated,” she said. “I understand we had a large infrastructure deposit on the future, because that’s what it is: a deposit on the future. The housing market is flat. The hookup fees and the costs of infrastructure we had hoped to get back are not coming back as quickly.”
Maslin feels extra fees are often worth it in Havre de Grace, considering the services and community environment that are provided.
“If we need to do an increase in water and sewer rates, if the numbers say we need to do it, then maybe we need to bite the bullet and do it,” she said. “Is there a thought of looking at water and sewer and looking at privatization? I don’t know. That’s a thought. Our trash is privatized. We take bids. Maybe we ought to look at that for water and sewer. I don’t know.”
“They may need to consider a regional water authority,” Wagner said. “I came from Pennsylvania and we had a regional water authority, and I know D.C. has one.”
Wagner compared it to an organization with smaller entities, sharing expenses across a platform
“I think that it scares some people because they think we’re giving up control and we’re going to lose jobs,” she said “The jobs are still going to be there. I think that we may need to look in that direction.”
In this installment, City Council candidates—incumbents John Correri and Randy Craig, and challengers James Lauer, Diane Lawder, Lori Maslin and Barbara Wagner—address the deficit in Fund 9, the water and sewer fund.
John Correri
One of the first tasks Correri was given when he was appointed to council last summer was to chair the water and sewer commission.“To understand the structure to that debt and to keep the city compliant, sometimes you have to make that hard decision. This year, the mayor has taken that recommendation from the water and sewer commission and has placed it in the budget,” Correri said. “Will that be the same thing, when it reaches the goal line and we pass the budget? I don’t know. There are five others who will look at this and have their angle on it. But we’re working hard to try to keep it to the best for what we can do for the citizens of Havre de Grace.”
Correri said simply raising the water rates can’t be done without careful consideration of the consequences.
“We don’t want to be raising rates, because that sets off a whole series of things. But we also have commitments from the city to be able to pay down those debts. You can borrow. You can raise rates. You can take it from the general fund. But they all set things off in their own right,” Correri said. “The thing now is, the recommendation from the commission is in the budget. Let's see what happens when it reaches the goal line. We’ll let the council have their chance to work on it.”
Randy Craig
Craig said, simply, water and sewer cannot be ignored.“Water and sewer services are the most important thing a city does from a public safety standpoint,” Craig said. “Beyond the fire services, the fire hydrants don’t work if there isn’t water in it. From a public health and public safety standpoint, that’s the most important thing the city does.”
Craig said the city took the first risk with building the wastewater treatment plant. The risk is apparent, now, as permits requests are “way down.”
“You have your most fixed cost, your water service, tied to your most volatile revenue. We need to mitigate that, and there are several solutions to that, and we need to consider all of them, and we need to be flexible,” Craig said. “What works for one or two years, or in one or two business cycles, might not work in the next one, because this is a 20-year note. Five or six years from now, things might be a lot better, but you have to be prepared to go in another direction. Flexibility is important, and that takes communication with the businesses, the residents. City staff has a big part in that aspect, too.”
James Lauer
Lauer did not respond to repeated interview requests from Patch.Diane Lawder
Lawder isn’t sure why there’s inequity in supply and demand. But she sees an inequity in the amount of funding provided for the water and wastewater treatment plants in town.“We need water,” she said. “[The fund is] supposed to be self-sufficient and maintain itself. But in order to provide water to the city, [the plants] need to be fully functional.”
Her husband, who works at the water treatment plant, shares stories of the plant’s inadequacy.
“[Visitors] laugh at the equipment they have. They laugh at the valves they have. One day something’s going to happen, and we’re not going to have water to the city,” she said. “They need money. They need to be funded and get new equipment. It’s ridiculous. It’s antiquated, dilapidated and barely functional.”
As for the distribution of assets from Fund 9, Lawder doesn’t like the shell game aspect, comparing it to transferring money from a savings account to a checking account.
“I think I would have a problem with that,” she said. “When you have a fund that’s specifically for something, when you start playing with money, putting it here and putting it there, that money’s never going back.”
Lori Maslin
Maslin sees the first step as a simple, practical one: run the water and sewer fund like a business.“I think we need to work at why it’s not operating in the black. Once we determine if it’s not operating in the black, find a way to operate it in the black,” she said.
Maslin thinks a number of city funds need to be explored.
“What is coming out of that water and sewer fund? Are we dividing amongst all the funds, employee costs, and we’re putting a little here and a little there? If we are, I don’t know. Maybe we need to look at how each of these funds is operated,” she said. “I understand we had a large infrastructure deposit on the future, because that’s what it is: a deposit on the future. The housing market is flat. The hookup fees and the costs of infrastructure we had hoped to get back are not coming back as quickly.”
Maslin feels extra fees are often worth it in Havre de Grace, considering the services and community environment that are provided.
“If we need to do an increase in water and sewer rates, if the numbers say we need to do it, then maybe we need to bite the bullet and do it,” she said. “Is there a thought of looking at water and sewer and looking at privatization? I don’t know. That’s a thought. Our trash is privatized. We take bids. Maybe we ought to look at that for water and sewer. I don’t know.”
Barbara Wagner
Wagner sees an opportunity for smaller municipalities to share costs through a regional network.“They may need to consider a regional water authority,” Wagner said. “I came from Pennsylvania and we had a regional water authority, and I know D.C. has one.”
Wagner compared it to an organization with smaller entities, sharing expenses across a platform
“I think that it scares some people because they think we’re giving up control and we’re going to lose jobs,” she said “The jobs are still going to be there. I think that we may need to look in that direction.”
