City Suspends Sale of Water Utility Until Further Notice
By CITY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
May 24, 2012
On March 8, 2012, the Office of Legal Counsel of the Headquarters U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (HQUSACE), provided a written opinion affirming that the Washington Aqueduct was authorized to sell water to an investor-owned or governmental water system. The City relied on this written determination in moving forward with an open, fair, and competitive bid process for the sale of its water system. It is unfortunate that the Army Corps has apparently reversed itself just before bids were due. In light of this, the City will suspend, until further notice, the bid opening and auction originally scheduled for Friday, May 25.
By (see byline)
May 24, 2012
Oh my. Maybe there’s money to be made in a reality show starring Council and City Management.
Wow! Didn’t see that coming!
Keep working the jab Fairfax!!! The Little City is on the ropes!
My water will taste even better on July 1!!
What if we were to invest any excess $ in a fund that would pay enough to cover maintenance and contingencies and cut the water rates to what will cover current expenses or much lower that Fairfax Water. It would help our residents, Fairfax customers, and would make our system more desirable to developers in Tysons Corner.
Maybe that would be a way to assist all while fighting the “Evil Empire.”
Mr. Jones… FCC Water has no interest in the water business unless it can pilfer Fairfax County’s resident’s tax dollars to subsidize FCC’s general budget
That is why FCC is heading for the exits after being told to take their straw out of our milkshake…
I went up to hear the bidding and found out about the suspension. It will be interesting to see the written document from the Corps explaining the decision reversal. Water wars continue
Fairfax has tried bullying, extortion, and now …
As for saving rates, when has a consolidation ever saved consumers – you don’t think that once Fairfax is the only water system in the area that rates will “have to go up.” What was Fairfax county’s deficit last year, and the projected one for FY2013? How much have they had to not budget to keep the water rates low?
Every Fairfax resident who now thinks that they will save money with FCC out of the water business is in for a rude shock. You don’t think Fairfax has artificially kept the rates low to bolster their position in this issue. You don’t think they will petition the courts to reverse the ability to move funds to the general budget from the utility once FCC is no longer a problem.
Please – Fairfax probably already has the new rate schedule ready to send for approval. The day FCC gives up the water system to Fairfax their will be an application for at least 10% rate hike – do you think Fairfax just was going to write off the legal costs and continue to save you money . I suspect folks like Mr. Duncan will wind up paying just as much in the end as they do now.
It’s possibly worth exploring whether Fairfax County made efforts to influence the Office of Legal Counsel of the Headquarters U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (HQUSACE) to change that office’s original published opinion on the matter of selling water to investor-owned entities. If so, were those efforts legal and above-board?
It seems that the opinion of a staff counsel was overruled by the Chief Counsel. It’s unfortunate (probably), but it happens all the time in law firms and government legal departments throughout the nation. It was risky poor judgment for the City to rely on the opinion of a staff attorney. Get a grip everybody. Stop the whining and grandstanding.
Mr. Baker makes an interesting point…
FCC Water has actually been doing me a favor all these years!
Fairfax County residents should be grateful to pay (via a padded water bill) for FCC
schools and services that are unrelated to water delivery…
Once the shoe is on the other foot, I hope Fairfax Cty and it’s Water Authority is as fair to FCC residents as they have been to us… I will have the turn to know that if I’m paying more for water than I should, the difference will go toward the schools and services of the County in which I live.
Mr Baker… What can Fairfax County Water do to us in the future that FCC Water hasn’t been doing to us for years?