WPCA Tool
“To regionalize is by far the best benefit for the taxpayers,” Harkins said.
http://www.stratfordstar.com/34630/residents-not-supportive-of-proposed-wpca-regionalization/
We have to admit that it doesn’t sound like “abracadabra” or “voila!”, but it means the same thing.
Nothing, and we do mean nothing, Harkins has said or written contains the slightest hint of benefit for Stratford taxpayers and residents. In fact, his own numbers suggest an extremely negative impact of the future of Stratford.
But let’s review this just one more time. We will type this real slow so that even Council members can follow this.
We (you & me) own a sewer plant that is worth at least $61 million. We use this number because that was the actual cost of the upgrade of the plant. The plant, of course, is currently worth much more than that. Some suggest upwards of $100 million if it were to be built new. Possibly more.
So far, sewer users have paid off $24 million of the bond debt (plus interest). Stratford taxpayers have paid zero.
The sewer plant receives approximately $10 million per year in revenue. Actually a bit more than that.
The mayor and council siphon $2.5 million of that to pay Town-wide expenses like pensions or just deposit it in the General Fund to be used for “whatever”.
So, how much does the sewer plant cost the Stratford taxpayers? The answer is literally “nothing”. Stratford taxpayers actually benefit thanks to their neighbors who pay fees to use the sewer.
Which brings us to Harkins’ plan. He would like to sell the sewer plant for $11 million in cash as well as payments in lieu of taxes of between $200,000 and $420,000. That is more than a 100% differential. That means Harkins doesn’t know what the payments would be. And then there is the assumption of $37 million in existing debt (We’ll come back to this later).
On it’s face, this deal is crazy. We are going to sell something we’ve already paid $24 million for a measly $11 million? And instead of $2.5 million/year we’ll get some unknown amount between $200,000 and $420,000? In addition to this “deal” we lose control of whatever happens to the sewer plant as well as its necessary infrastructure. We’ll get 2 votes out of 13. Or is it 2 votes of of 11 on some board? Why does that sound better than 10 out of 10?
But wait! There’s more! If we act right now the Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority will assume the remaining $37 million bond debt! Does anyone actually think they will write a check to the bond holder? Silly taxpayer. No, they will use our sewer fees to pay off the remaining balance. Just like we would have done. Plus they will need to make a profit for their members. This is done by raising our fees. Wait, you say? We have “influence on the Board”! The fees in Stratford will go up by a vote of 11 to 2.
Why, you might ask, would anyone question Harkins on any of this? To Harkins the answer is obvious: “…the people protesting the deal were part of “an organized moment” in the Democratic Party to make the proposal into an election issue.”
Wait! There are organized Democrats in Stratford? Where? You’re kidding, right?
And speaking of an election issue…what issue? Harkins is mayor for another 2.5 years. Or is he?
When we are talking about the sale of $100+ million in Taxpayer assets the only reasonable option is a Town-wide referendum to let the owners (us) decide.