Mayor: City to keep water, sewer systems

Melfi says public officials keep service rates in check because they face voters.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Mayor James J. Melfi says he won't sell the city's water and sewer systems to a private company, although there has been pressure to make a deal.
"Even in the darkest depths of our fiscal emergency, that has never been our position," Melfi said Thursday.
His comments come in the wake of action taken Wednesday by Campbell City Council that allows Aqua Ohio Inc., a private water supplier, to run its city water system and, perhaps, take it over.
The deal was struck because Campbell is in state-imposed fiscal emergency and needs the money.
Girard has been in a similar situation since August 2001 when its general-fund accumulated deficit stood at $1.95 million.
At the end of October, the deficit was worked down to $781,000, and the mayor believes it will decrease slightly more by year's end.
This despite Girard Municipal Court's seeking $250,000 from the city to subsidize the court's shortfall in revenue this year. The city is the court's host city within the court's jurisdiction.
Aqua's offer
When Girard went into fiscal emergency, Aqua Ohio proposed to purchase the city waterlines, sewage treatment plant and sanitary sewer lines for $8 million.
The offer never went anywhere, but Melfi said he has been under pressure by some members of city council and the fiscal oversight commission to sell assets.
Melfi said he believes that the sewer and water customers can be charged the lowest possible rates because public officials must answer to the voters.
Also, he added, public officials are also service customers and want to keep their private rates as low as possible.
Melfi said he and Safety-Service Director Jerry Lambert understand and sympathize with the economic struggles of the customers.
"Citizens will receive the best possible rates while they are overseen by public officials," he stressed.
Melfi said he has been slow to pass increased water rates on to city customers despite higher costs of providing them.
The city purchases 80 percent of its water from Niles and the balance from Youngstown and McDonald for resale.
In January, McDonald increased its rate to the city by 20 percent; Niles, by 1.5 percent. The mayor said he withheld from increasing the city rates until June.
Melfi said that some people point out that private companies have more money to put into such services, but he suggested that might be the result of higher rates.