FLOW mulls lawsuit as city hikes water rates

Help needed for petition drive

By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
   A grass-roots organization opposed to water rate increases is considering a lawsuit against Trenton as a possible response to a 40 percent rate increase approved by the Trenton City Council last week.
   The increase effects customers of Trenton water who live in several developments in southern Hopewell Township. Those developments, which include around 2,000 residential units, include Brandon Farms, Wellington Manor and Hopewell Grant.
   FLOW is opposed to the rate increase and to a proposed sale of the portion of the Trenton water system serving Hopewell, Ewing, Lawrence and Hopewell townships. The mayors of all four towns have publicly opposed the proposed sale, which officials say, would likely result in another rate increase even larger than the one just approved by the city.
   The proposed sale is being reviewed by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU), which must approve the sale before it can go through.
   ”FLOW and township officials are now considering how to respond,” said FLOW leader Morton Rosenthal, who lives in Hopewell Township.
   ”Among the possible responses are a lawsuit by the townships and a FLOW petition campaign to force City Council to postpone implementation of the rate increase so that it can be put to a vote by residents of Trenton as a referendum issue at the next election.”
   Mr. Rosenthal said that, under the law, voters in Trenton could use the power of referendum in an attempt to roll back the rate increase. “We only need about 1,100 signatures of Trenton residents who voted in the last election,” Mr. Rosenthal said.
   ”However, the signatures must be collected and submitted within 20 days of the adoption of the resolution, i.e. by Sept. 23.
   ”If we get sufficient signatures, Trenton voters, rather than the City Council, would decide if they want to authorize the rate increase. With their vote they could determine the fate of the 40 percent increase,” he noted.
   He added that FLOW plans to post the petition on its Web site: flowtrenton.com.
   ”Those who wish to participate in the petition drive will be able to download the petition and instructions and then collect signatures,” he said.
   ”The signed petitions would be mailed to an address that we would provide. The petition drive is conditional on our getting a sufficient number of volunteers. The decision whether to go ahead depends on your response to this message,” he added.
   Those who would like to help get the petition drive started should call Michael McGrath at 462-7988, Mr. Rosenthal said.