Committee plans to circulate petition

The city would have a water plant but no police or fire departments, the mayor said.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CAMPBELL -- A three-woman committee filed Monday its intention to circulate a referendum petition aimed a placing the sale of the city's water treatment plant to Aqua Ohio on the November 2006 election ballot.
The deadline for filing the referendum petition is Friday, 30 days after city council passed legislation approving the sale Nov. 16. It was signed the same day by Mayor John Dill.
A committee member, Juanita Rich, unsuccessful candidate for mayor in the November general election, said 256 valid signatures, or 10 percent of the number of Campbell residents who voted in the last gubernatorial election, are needed to force a public vote on the issue.
The other two besides Rich who signed the petition are Denise Sarigianopoulos and Flora Hodge, who Rich said is a former longtime employee at the water treatment plant.
The agreement
Under the agreement, Aqua Ohio would take over the operation and maintenance of the plant. It would pay the city $3 million up front and $300,000 annually for 10 years. At the end of that term, Aqua would own the facility.
Also, Aqua would invest $100,000 annually in the plant and its operations for improvements and repairs, beyond routine work, and assume the current $4.2 million debt the city owes for improvements at the plant. The total Aqua payout would be in excess of $11 million, Dill said.
Rich said she has been against selling the treatment plant from the beginning. She believes the plant is worth more money than what Aqua has agreed to pay.
She called the Aqua deal a "quick temporary fix" and predicted the city would be back in fiscal emergency in a year's time. Rich said the city could generate income by selling money to outlying areas, which she said is why Aqua wants the plant.
Dill said the water plant deal is the best way out of debt and fiscal emergency for Campbell. He thinks the vast majority of the city's residents agree with the sale.
It was the major issue in the mayoral election, with Dill handily defeating Rich.
Also, Dill said three public meetings were conducted to inform the public on the issue, at which a combined total of fewer than 100 people attended.
"I thought we got our message out loud and clear," Dill said.
Dill said he does not think the referendum committee understands what would happen if the sale of the water plant is held up.
Layoffs necessary
First, he said beginning in January, 10 to 13 people would have to be laid off in the police and fire departments, salaries for which are paid out of the general fund. It might also be necessary to lay off one or two employees in the street department and one in the water billing department, the mayor said.
Currently, the police department has 13 policemen, plus the chief; and the fire department has six firefighters, plus the chief, Dill said.
The city would have a water plant but no police or fire departments if the sale to Aqua does not go through, he said.
Also, Dill said water rates would immediately go up 12 percent, and the monthly debt service charge would increase from $5 to $6.
There also is the question of whether Aqua will hold its offer until the results of the November 2006 election are known, the mayor said.
Dill said he was to meet at 9 a.m. todayto discuss the situation with Aqua officials.
Rich said the layoffs are Dill's problem. "He should have addressed the problem earlier and thought of other ways to increase revenue," she said.
She said her main objective is to allow the people to vote on the issue. If they vote to allow the sale to go forward, that is fine, she said.
Urged to not sign
Dill urged Campbell residents to not sign the referendum petitions. If they have questions, Dill asked them to talk to their councilmen or the mayor's office.
"I really don't think they [the referendum committee] really know what they are doing," Dill said. He added that the sale of the water plant "is a chance for the city to move forward. We have a great opportunity to go into partnership with Aqua and to move ahead and relieve the debt," Dill said.
He characterized the referendum effort as "a vendetta. They are the same people we fought during the election," Dill said.
alcorn@vindy.com