Newark City Council Takes Steps to Approve Water Authority
NEWARK - City Council members made a controversial move toward a water and sewer authority June 17 as they now face a $180 million budget deficit.Eight of the nine municipal Council members passed a bill that sends an application to the state Department of Community Affairs Local Finance Board for the creation of a Newark Municipal Utilities Authority.
The authority would operate and maintain the city's water and sewer systems. The proposed NMUA would also have the ability to issue bonds to finance capital improvements and attract other municipalities as water and/or sewer customers.
The vote comes on the heels of Newark facing a $180 million deficit. The Booker administration has been looking at an additional employee furlough and laying off up to 1,000 others throughout city departments since May 15. There has been one report that plugging the deficit may translate to raising property taxes 27 percent.All eight Council members present unanimously approved the bill. The passage came during a meeting originally set for 5:30 p.m. June 16. The session was deferred 24 hours due to the Essex County election commissioners' counting of provisional ballots in the June 15 Central Ward Council Runoff.
By 7:55 p.m., news reached the Council that challenger Darrin Sharif won the runoff election by 11 provisional votes. Council President Mildred Crump used a pause between public speakers to acknowledge Sharif's presence in the Council chamber gallery.
Sharif acknowledged the gallery's applause and accepted handshakes and hugs. He left without comment and would be sworn in with Mayor Cory A. Booker and the other eight council members who were elected May 11.
Bell took his seat for the last time at 8:03 p.m., after the last of 16 public speakers had been heard. He voted for approving the application to the DCA board along with his seven present colleagues. At-large Councilman Carlos Gonzalez was absent throughout the meeting.
At least three of the 16 public speakers decried the pending NMUA vote on several grounds. Those speakers were supported by 15 people who held anti-MUA signs. NMUA opponents said they are concerned that the city would be giving away its ownership and oversight of the watershed and water and sewer system.
Terri A. Seuss urged the Council to defer if not vote down the measure.
"Given that you have now two new members coming on the Council July 1, why not wait until they have a chance to read the bill themselves?" Seuss asked.
Seuss, along with MUA opposition leader Bill Chappel and Wilbur McNeil, questioned the Booker administration's inclusion of the bill on the June 17 agenda. They asked why the Mayor's office had placed the bill without the public having an opportunity to read the measure.
The NMUA question has been on the table for almost two years. Booker decided last year to create a public board to review the matter and invited Chappel to join that panel.
"The Newark watershed is the city's last greatest public asset," said Chappel. "It should not be sold away to privateers. The water department can be made to run more efficiently in-house."
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Mayor Booker avoided this most important and controversial of issue of our time during his campaign for reelection.
Maybe he did not want people to know that he will receive “up front money” to balance his budget now and then for the next thirty years our children and grandchildren will be required to pay-off his debit with high water rates. By that time Oprah will interview, Sen. Booker (R) by from Washington, bragging how he once balance Newark’s budget.
This is a repeat of the Port Authority problem all over again. We own the land under the airport and we receive chump-change instead of collecting fair compensation. What are the chances that Anheuser-Busch will move out of Newark due to higher water rates?