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Making it Easier to Steal Public Water

Former Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer unintentionally hit the nail on the head in his comment made to the Trenton Times this morning. In a piece by Jenna Pizzi about the two most expensive local referenda (sorry, headline writers: 3rd Declension Nominative Plural forms end in -a, not -s) in New Jersey History, Palmer referred to the 2010 Trenton Water Works Vote. In that ballot measure, Trenton voters voted 4-1 against selling suburban assets belonging to the Trenton Water Works. An astroturf “Committee” in favor of the measure spent a whopping $1,200,000 for their 20% vote share, against a citizen’s group expenditure of $13,000 for their 80%.

For Mayor Palmer, this lop-sided, David & Goliath battle taught an important lesson, saying “It [the vote] also shows that money in and of itself isn’t always the deciding factor when you have people in a grassroots way involved in the issue.”

That’s a frightening statement for those many involved in politics. Money, NOT the deciding factor??? A couple of citizens with $13,000 beating big corporations spending $1.2 Million? In the world created by the “Citizens United” decision, where corporate money has been given status as First Amendment protected speech, that is a heretical notion that cannot be allowed to stand!

This may be the main reason that since the 2010 failure of the Trenton sale, the main action on the issue of municipal water ownership in New Jersey has taken place mostly out of public view, in the New Jersey Statehouse.

Legislation has been written, and it has worked its way through the legislature to forestall future grassroots efforts, and make it much more difficult – if not outright impossible – for citizen opposition leading to voter referenda over water utility sales and privatization in Trenton and elsewhere in New Jersey.

If it becomes much more difficult for voters to force a public referendum, that will level the playing field for those companies and interests who covet public assets but whose massive reserves of cash can no longer be depended on to deliver their desired results inside voting booths.

Governor Christie has on his desk (and will surely sign) the 2014 “Water Infrastructure Protection Act” (A3628/S2412), passed overwhelmingly in December by large bi-partisan majorities of the Legislature (our local Senator and Assembly members thankfully voted against it). In the words of the official legislative statement accompanying the bill, this new law “authorizes municipalities to long-term lease or sell their water assets, without any referendum, if an emergent condition exists” [Emphasis mine – KM]. The full text of the bill can be found here.

If a municipality states that an emergency exists with the existing water service, a process can begin that can lead in very short order to a local council vote and state approval and certification to authorize a sale or long-term lease, with minimal public input other than one open hearing. A public effort in opposition would have only a very short time, [EDITED] only 20 days after such certification, to circulate a petition to gain enough signatures – 15% of the number of voters from the preceding state election – to force a referendum.

“Emergency” is broadly defined within the law.  Long-term violations or deficiencies in water quality count as emergencies. So does long-term neglect to properly maintain, repair and upgrade facilities and equipment. It’s not hard to think of situations where cash-strapped towns could,hypothetically, starve a water works of investment, maintenance and manpower for years, saving some money in the process, then claim that the inevitable breakdowns have created an emergency that only a private buyer with deep pockets could fix.

It’s not hard at all, is it?

If Trenton’s voters had not decisively defeated that million dollar effort four years ago, I seriously doubt that the Water Infrastructure Protection Act would today be sitting on the Governor’s desk awaiting signature.  David beat Goliath, so the effort shifted to try to ensure David wouldn’t get another shot in the future.

Despite the mismanagement of the last few years, I still believe the Trenton Water Works is a valuable public asset, and should remain so. I consider the new state law as little other than a legislated attempt to make the democratic process more difficult for regular citizens, and easier for those who might seek to acquire public assets, at bargain prices, for private gain. This law just makes it easier to steal public water.

I don’t know how this may play in the rest of the state. But here in Trenton, the memory of the 2009-2010 water sale is still fresh. I would hope that any administration and council contemplating a quick and easy asset sale to provide a future short-term budget fix might keep in mind the 80-20 drubbing that the last proposal received, and choose to avoid a repeat of 2010.

It happened once. It could happen again.

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