AC-T:

“But in an interview later, the freshman lawmaker also called odds that Asheville would be stripped of control over the the water system “50-50.” Control over delivering water and setting rates could go to another agency not under the city’s direction, he said.”
[...]
“I understand … you took testimony on the advantages of having municipal water systems run by the private sector,” [Steve] Rasmussen said of the legislative Select Committee on Public-Private Partnerships.

“I did not,” Moffitt responded.

To clarify, what Rep. Moffitt did hear in his “Public-Private Partnership Committee” was a broad ranging presentation that included this section about water and sewer services:

Water and Sewer Systems – Several Models
- Government owns the system, and contracts with private company to operate and maintain the system; IRS rules allow this arrangement (up to 20-year term) even in a system financed with tax-exempt bonds; OR
- Government purchases system previously owned by private operator; OR
- Government sells system to private operator that operates it under N.C. Utility Commission (NCUC) oversight; OR
- Private entity uses tax-exempt financing (exempt facility bonds under IRC § 142(a)(4)) to build and operate private system under NCUC oversight

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After initially proposing an outright seizure of the Asheville Water System, Rep. Tim Moffitt then backpedaled and marshalled a “Study Committee” to have a look at whether to leave the system in the hands of the citizens of Asheville. Barry Summers at Save Asheville’s Water summarizes the next steps in the process:

A legislative study committee, made up of five House Legislators, has been authorized by the General Assembly in Raleigh to ‘study’ whether or not to seize Asheville’s water system. It is Chaired by Representative Tim Moffitt(R-116), who in May 2011 initially proposed simply requiring the City to turn over it’s water supply to the Metropolitan Sewerage District (MSD), the Buncombe County-wide authority that handles collection and treatment of wastewater. He did not consult with the City or the MSD beforehand. In fact, several officials from the City had traveled to Raleigh specifically to ask Rep. Moffitt about pending legislation that might affect the City a mere two days before it was introduced. But in the words of one Council member, “…it’s strange to not even mention that there’s going to be a bill to seize a water system that the city has operated for the last 100 years.” After several weeks of local controversy, Rep. Moffitt changed the bill to a ‘study bill’, and it passed the House, which essentially delayed the issue for a year.

Since initiating the process of a ‘study committee’, Rep. Moffitt has said that the three options they are studying are:
a) do nothing – allow Asheville to continue operating its own water system,
b) force the City to turn it over to the Buncombe County-dominated MSD, as per his original bill, or
c) force the City to turn it over to a separate authority, most likely a regional system (Buncombe/Henderson) favored by Henderson County Representative Chuck McGrady, another member of the study committee.

As we enter into a period when you’ll be hearing a lot about the Asheville Water System, I thought it’d be helpful to provide some historical background. After the fold you’ll find a Mountain Xpress article from February, 2009 that summarizes the court decisions against the City of Asheville regarding its water system. Give it a read.

Read a history of the Asheville Water System here.

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As we enter into a period when you’ll be hearing a lot about the Asheville Water System, I thought it’d be helpful to provide some historical background. After the fold you’ll find the fifth and final part of a paper authored by John S. Stevens. The paper was completed before the courts ruled against the City of Asheville. Give it a read.

Part One here.
Part Two here.
Part Three here.
Part Four here.

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