TFC, I assume City Council will get into specifics on how the proceeds may be spent prior to the referendum in November – I’ll be bugging them to if they don’t do it proactively – because I do think the plans for the funds would impact whether or not I support selling the utility.

Also, it probably takes a while for something like this to go through so I wouldn’t be surprised if 2013 City Council candidates (November election) will be running on how to use the money (if, in fact, there is money to use) – so that may be another opportunity for voters to dictate the final outcome of things.

I don’t see how the water utility is a very valuable asset if we can’t generate any net revenue from it. I mean, the asset has value but it seems like the only way to capture the value is by selling it.

I think the issue of city expenses and commercial development are separate from the water utility issue. Even if city expenses were down and commercial development was up and our tax rate was lower we’d still benefit more by selling the utility and using the proceeds to reduce our taxes even more.

I think at this point it’s a little too early to worry too much about what we might do with proceeds from a sale. First, we have to find out if there are any good offers. Then, Council would need to authorize the sale. Then, we’d have to wait until November to vote on it. I suspect that between Council approval and November there will be many opportunities for concerned citizens to ask City Council and the City Manager what the plans are for the proceeds – and those plans can guide how people vote on the issue.

So, where do the proceeds go exactly…..are we just sacrifice a major asset to offset increasing City expenses and because commericial development is flatlined….with the tax rate staying the same at best? Maybe this discussion is premature….a lot of questions like this need to be answered which maybe have been addressed through some venue but most likely in information that will be forthcoming.