Trumbull commissioners face balancing act with water

Trumbull County Commissioners are mulling over what to do with what was launched in 1972 as the "four-township water district," even though it quickly picked up a fifth township.
A bit of history: The water district, which serves parts of Brookfield, Hubbard, Vienna, Liberty and Howland townships, was a child of politics. It was created by commissioners who were doing anything they could to convince county residents to vote against a charter form of government that was on the November 1973 ballot.
What the water system might cost in the long run was a secondary consideration. Commissioners wanted desperately to show that they could give the voters what they wanted and needed -- and in southeastern Trumbull County that was water.
Nearly 30 years have passed. The system was built -- not without controversy along the way, a review of Vindicator clippings shows -- and commissioners are approaching another crossroad.
Choices to be made
If they go one way, the county could find a new supplier of water, continue to operate the system and pass along any savings to the customers. County Sanitary Engineer Thomas Holloway has endorsed that route. He says Youngstown would charge 20 percent less per year for water than the $1.1 million the county pays Consumers Ohio Water Co. under a contract that expires in 2004.
Or they could go another way, and sell the entire system to Consumers, which says it would then spend $4 million to expand the water system to new customers.
That might sound like a good deal for the commissioners, who could wash their hands of the water system and still claim to have a part in providing water for neighborhoods that need it.
But would it be the best deal for the present four-township customers? Over the years, haven't they been paying water bills that not only covered the cost of the water, but also retired debt on construction of the system? Should the system now be sold so that new customers can get service, or should the charter customers get cheaper water?
Those are the questions facing commissioners.