Reality Check: Why Aren’t We Talking About Our Water Bills?

Reality Bank check: Why Aren't We Talking Almost Our Water Bills?

Last week's water main break is show of Philly's infrastructure problem. But WURD's afternoon host wonders why college fees are again the urban center'south only solution

Jul. x, 2018

It'south baroque, really: In the public conversation over the Keen Water Main Break of Philadelphia, in that location's been scant—if any—conversation on the connectedness between that interruption and the Philadelphia H2o Section's (PWD) plan to increment water rates past eleven percent over the adjacent ii years.

We'll know if that happens past Wed.

Sure, it's not like this week'due south Water, Sewer & Storm Water Rate Board proceedings (snoozy as that sounds) are every bit sensational as water rapids gushing through the middle of a large American city. In all the talk nigh how much Centre City will be inconvenienced, how long it volition accept filling up that massive sinkhole on Sansom and Juniper streets, and how many businesses volition be affected, local media has yet to bring up the sizable rate increases to pay for all of that and then some.

Nor will the Mayor and Metropolis Council, who could do metropolis residents a adept wait by bringing that up, or members of Congress like Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA). Everyone in leadership talks a nicely marinated gospel about the virtues of infrastructure and the need to invest in it. Yet, all go surreptitiously quiet at moments similar these begging for that open talk with constituents almost how crucial cadre infrastructure is and how everyone must effigy out sensible strategies on paying for information technology.

Allow'southward make these investments, but let'southward stop thinking that the but fashion we can get money for them is by haggling residents into living tighter than they already do.

And that's considering the big sacrifice on resident pocketbooks is happening again. The Water Department's enquire for the rate increase arises at a convenient time for the beleaguered agency—and a rather inconvenient time for those who live here. What the department suggests is an increase of about $116 million "… in operating revenues during the menstruation of September 1, 2022 through September 1, 2021."  For users, that would translate into a i.1 percentage increment on Labor Twenty-four hour period and an boosted v percent by Labor Day next year, along with an added 4.5 percent on Labor Twenty-four hour period 2020.

That's a total of 11 percent in average water bill increases over the next 2 years. Non-residential customers, including businesses, would expect increases of about 15 percent over that same time catamenia. That could be particularly tough for brick-and-mortar modest businesses.

That massive water main break now raises the stakes for everyone. It offers the PWD simply the perfect reasoning information technology needs to convince the board, policy makers and fifty-fifty over-billed residents that Philly'due south very former water and sewage infrastructure is in drastic need of a big fix. Even though hearings for charge per unit increases starting in September 2022 have been ongoing, pretty much unnoticed, since Feb, one can easily wager the PWD will put the water main break on full brandish at the final conclusion meeting on Wednesday, July 11 th at 2pm, 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor, Room eighteen-022 otherwise known as "The Glass Room."

While the Glass Room moniker might suggest transparency, the process leading up to this moment has been anything but. Naturally, the dynamic in these proceedings could change dramatically past virtue of the recent Centre City disaster. What was once simply a routine, albeit significant, proposal for a charge per unit increase now injects a sense of urgency that probably wasn't there before. H2o chief breaks have been on the rise in Philly for some fourth dimension, it'south nothing new.  But a water primary break in the very core of the city, where its political and economic power resides, suddenly illustrates the point in ways that weren't so colorful before.

Just similar the city's attitude on it's re-acquired school commune, the merely way city planners and policymakers tin can figure out how to pay for city infrastructure is to simply raise rates. Basically, more than taxes on top of taxes. The similarities betwixt the ii bug are somewhat striking: Mayor Jim Kenney persists on politically belongings "the kids" hostage as a way to justify property tax increases; the PWD, lifting from that same script, can simply argue this ballsy h2o main pause and the monster sinkhole left backside will continue reoccurring if residents don't open wallets.

Charge per unit increases come up at a time when the city all the same struggles to grapple with its poverty problem, and while PWD continues implementing the country's starting time Tiered Assistance Program for low-income customers. Meanwhile, residential water bills have increased by 30 percentage since 2007.

The cycle continues. Everywhere residents plough, they get ceremoniously mugged. That'due south as intense for the city'south economically distressed residents as information technology is for those who volition grumble at an increase, simply tin however maintain.

That all said, Philadelphia sorely needs its infrastructure refreshed and fixed. Information technology'south an former city that's falling apart, fifty-fifty with all this building taking identify in it—something that should have been considered before opening up the structure floodgates. PWD is, fundamentally, correct: we do need to brand necessary investments in critical infrastructure, since water mains throughout Philly average about 70 or more years in age (that item chief on Sansom Street was about a century old).

The agency has moved in the right direction with projects such as the 25-year Green Metropolis, Make clean Waters initiative and already rolling out phased investments over fourth dimension—such every bit the $188 million already approaching through 2022 for infrastructure projects; and some credit is due for showing some appreciation for the residential role in that. Just, the Light-green City, Clean Waters product has already doubled in budget size to $4.v billion over 25 years from the initial $2.4 billion project. That's not including the other $2.7 billion six-year majuscule investment budget.

These are needed investments. Just the question is: Why do urban center leaders and planners always plough to higher taxes and rates for big fixes? Charge per unit increases come at a time when the urban center still struggles to grapple with its poverty problem, and while PWD continues implementing the country's outset Tiered Assist Program for low-income customers that bases their monthly bill on their income. Meanwhile, residential water bills have increased past 30 percent since 2007, amidst the highest in the nation, which is crushing for some.

If infrastructure is then crucial then it should prompt demands for urban center government to put added force per unit area on builders, companies and business influencers in the city to help find solutions. Other cities around the country and the world have formed public-individual partnerships to fund infrastructure fixes, including water systems; Lebanon, for example, has launched a joint try to reinvent its h2o organisation and oversight to increase availability, jobs and safety. Where is that kind of solid public-individual partnership here?

Or, Philly could wait to our firsthand south, where the urban center of Baltimore is part of a public-public partnership with neighboring communities to packet contracts and procurement for infrastructure fixes.

Philly knows it has crumbling infrastructure everywhere, and the state overall gets a C- grade in its final Infrastructure Report Menu , still both city and state leaders are besides afraid to ask major conglomerates who either base operations in Philly (or, possibly, want to) for set-aside coin on that infrastructure. There's already mounting evidence from initial investigations of the Heart City break that construction was a principal culprit; so, why not identify greater expectations on builders who are actively disrupting, stressing and dissentious core h2o infrastructure to absorb the burden of those investments?

This is where revision of the property tax abatement could be useful; City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart's report in April offered several ways to practise that, raising in the neighborhood of $5 million. Perhaps some of that could go towards structure-related infrastructure fixes. Or maybe City Quango should revisit and expand its proposed ane-percent "Construction Taxation" for a set menses of fourth dimension to  help the city completely restore its well-nigh-aboriginal water infrastructure.

Philly has the right full general idea on how to go about fixing its water network bug. No one is opposed to that. The problem here is that water chief breaks shouldn't mean the PWD and Metropolis Hall go full license to break resident pockets. Let'south make these investments, simply let'due south stop thinking that the merely manner we can get money for them is by haggling residents into living tighter than they already do.

Charles D. Ellison is Executive Producer and Host of "Reality Check," which airs Mon-Thursday, 4-7 p.1000. on WURD Radio (96.1FM/900AM). Cheque out The Denizen's weekly segment on his show every Tuesday at half-dozen p.m. Ellison is also Master of B|E Strategy, the Washington Correspondent for The Philadelphia Tribune and Contributing Politics Editor to TheRoot.com . Catch him if you can @ellisonreport on Twitter.

walkerweepame1960.blogspot.com

Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/reality-check-why-arent-we-talking-about-our-water-bills/

Share this post