Has PMUA's Mission Failed?

Although I did not attend last night's PMUA rate hearing due to the ice and snow underfoot, I have been thinking about the authority for a couple of weeks now.

In a 2005 Plaintalker interview, PMUA officials recounted the reason for the establishment of the authority: "The authority was created by the city to deal with two major problems: illegal dumping and a dilapidated sewer system, Assistant Executive Director David Ervin said. "

The authority was marking its 10th anniversary, hence the interview, and its leaders were declaring its mission accomplished, so to speak. So why are PMUA officials now saying illegal dumping is such an intractable problem that a 61 percent rate hike for shared services is necessary?

The other thing that has puzzled this blogger is why there are pages and pages of tax liens published, most due to non-payment of PMUA fees? This was going on even before people decided to opt out of the system, a form of rejection that goes even beyond nonpayment of fees.

Plaintalker has attended most of the rate hearings over the years and there have been very few citizens in attendance, even at the one in January 2009. From Plaintalker's post on that meeting: "Sewer rates will increase by 14 percent for 2009 and solid waste costs will rise by 20 percent, according to figures given at a Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority rate hearing Thursday.

"The last hike was in 2007 and before that, rates did not increase for three years. But now householders will be asked to pay $191.45 per quarter for solid waste costs, up from $159.65, and $578 per (Correction: per year) quarter for sewer services, up from $509.

"Various other costs rose, including 40 percent more to clean up a trash-strewn property and 20 percent more to dispose of the debris."

The bills that followed the 2009 rate increases kicked off one of the most well-organized and fervent citizen movements the city has seen in decades. DumpPMUA has had many victories, even if its leader did not prevail in court.

So now PMUA is under a microscope for its operations and is apparently also the subject of a political stalemate over appointments. The latest development on appointments is that the City Council may be interviewing the mayor's nominees in January, for possible appointment before the PMUA's annual reorganization in February.

Given all these factors, maybe it is time for a panel of some sort to be convened to look seriously at longterm options for solid waste and sewer services. The caveat most often invoked against a change is that if the city dismantled the PMUA, it would be liable for all the authority's debt. But because there has been no objective look at all the factors involved, we don't really know the pros and cons.

I am thinking of something along the lines of the commission that did a study of the city's special charter and presented its findings to the governing body. But it need not just be the city that looks into the options. The PMUA has had the same leadership for almost 15 years. All three initial top administrators - Lou Jones, David Ervin and Eric Watson - had previously served the city as Public Works directors. Jones has since passed on and Watson has mentioned retirement. It would be prudent for PMUA to look into the best possible succession of leadership.

A key factor in establishing an authority was that it could set rates and was not bound by the constraints of a municipality dependent upon tax revenues. But authorities were not meant to have free rein in spending and we are now seeing some undergoing drastic leadership changes meant to bring about austerity in their operations.

Maybe it is too much to ask in these fraught times for a sensible partnership to examine the delivery of two vital services to Plainfield. So far, PMUA has wanted to go its own way.

In the 2005 interview, Watson spoke of the authority being the city's fifth largest employer. More recently, its employment of parolees has been brought up almost as a raison d'etre, as there are so few "re-entry" opportunities. So is employment a core mission of the authority? Should it be? That is a tough question in these times, but so are all the other questions swirling around the PMUA.

All these issues - illegal dumping, rate hikes, delinquent ratepayers, citizen protest, a stalemate on commissioner appointments, authority leadership and its economic role - are ripe for discussion. Will 2011 hold any answers?

--Bernice Paglia