To the Editor:
As a ratepayer, and more importantly a taxpayer, I have been keeping a close eye on the LTMUA dissolution debate. This is a decision that will impact our utility service and our wallets and I am worried that if I sit back and do nothing, council will make a bad decision, and I cannot let that happen, and neither can you! The truth of the matter is, the township hasn’t thought this through. Put aside the alleged (and in my opinion nonexistent) $1 million in savings, by dissolving the LTMUA we are putting our township’s long-term infrastructure, financial security, and prosperity at risk.
The LTMUA is an operation with hundreds of moving parts, each of which are critical to its efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately to our community. If you attend the township council meetings, or watch the videos online like I do, you’ll quickly learn Mayor Beck, Deputy Mayor Clark and Councilman Neville clearly have a lot more “I don’t knows” and deflected questions than they do answers and solutions. They clearly have not taken the time to consider the long-term implications of this decision for the taxpayers.
Following the dissolution, the township would be financially responsible for the LTMUA’s infrastructure, meaning that the township – or should I say taxpayers – will have to pay money out of pocket for maintenance, upkeep and expansion. The township will also be faced with costly environmental compliance, just one more foreign element for the township to figure out.
Also, I’ve yet to hear a clear plan from the township on how they plan to handle bond holders. Has the township compared the interest rates/yields of the LTMUA’s most recent bond issue with the township’s latest public borrowing? Are they planning to dissolve the bond? If so, where is that money coming from, and how are we even sure the township can withstand assuming this level of debt? I’d say it’s time for bond holders to start asking the tough questions because time is running out.
There are also serious legal liabilities surrounding this dissolution that will impact Lower Township residents. Today, the LTMUA exists as a separate entity, meaning when the utility system is sued, it’s not the taxpayer’s problem. That will all change after dissolution; the taxpayers will now be liable for any and all liabilities. Also, terminating LTMUA employees will result in unemployment claims, severance packages and possibly litigation – where’s that money coming from? No plan has been discussed at the council meetings, so I assume it comes out of our wallets come tax time.
From what has been shared (and not shared) at council meetings, it is clear that dissolving the MUA will severely impact the financial health of our community. The township doesn’t have the necessary technical experience, financial plans or legal protections in place, and without those cornerstones our town is doomed for financial turmoil and compromised services – not exactly the type of community I’d want to live in, or that grant organizations are looking to invest in.
If the township dissolves the LTMUA, all of Lower Township’s taxpayers will pay. I urge you to speak up now so that Beck, Clark and Neville do not make a civically irresponsible decision.
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