HOPEWELL: Talks about Water Works issue continue

Goal is to resolve issue of sale of Trenton Water Works lines outside of Trenton to NJAWC

By Lea Kahn, The Packet Group
   Settlement talks between the City of Trenton and the four townships affected by the city’s proposal to sell off a portion of its water lines to the New Jersey American Water Co. are continuing, according to Lawrence Township Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun.
   Mr. Krawczun said Lawrence officials met with their counterparts from Hopewell, Ewing and Hamilton townships and representatives of the state Board of Public Utilities, the NJAWC and the Public Advocate’s Office recently in Newark.
   Mr. Krawczun declined to offer specific details about the meeting, other than to comment that “our involvement has been quite active and it has been beneficial that we have been participating in the process.”
   The Oct. 22 meeting was the latest in a series of meetings among the parties whose goal is to resolve the issue of the sale of the Trenton Water Works lines outside of the city of Trenton to the NJAWC. The four townships have signed on as intervenors in the proposed sale, which must be approved by the BPU.
   Meanwhile, the Hamilton Township Council approved a resolution at its Oct. 21 meeting authorizing Hamilton Township officials to contact the Mercer County Improvement Authority to explore the possibility of the MCIA purchasing the water lines in the four affected townships.
   The city of Trenton has agreed to sell the so-called outside water utility system — the water lines in the four townships — to the NJAWC for $100 million. But an expert retained by the Division of Rate Counsel in the Public Advocate’s Office has contended that the outside water utility system is worth $54 million.
   The NJAWC also has filed a petition with the BPU to raise the water rates by nearly 36 percent, pending approval of the sale of the outside water utility system. The city of Trenton wants to sell the outside water utility system to raise money for upgrades to the Trenton Water Works facilities. The city needs to make improvements to its water treatment plant and to cover the reservoir in the city.
   While the issue is pending before the BPU, Trenton City Council last month adopted an ordinance that raises the water rates by 40 percent. The ordinance affects Trenton water customers as well as the four townships.
   The new rates increase a typical water user’s quarterly bill from $75 to about $103 or $104. City officials did not need the BPU’s approval for the rate hike because the city equalized the rates for all customers in October 2006.
   City officials contend the rate hike is needed to pay for improvements, including a $70 million upgrade to the water treatment plant, $10 million for an interconnection with the NJAWC and a $7 million project at the central pump station.
   Lawrence has joined Hopewell, Ewing and Hamilton in suing the city of Trenton in an effort to overturn the ordinance. The seven-count lawsuit seeks to invalidate the ordinance, which affects nearly 40,000 customers in the four townships that are served by the Trenton Water Works.
   The lawsuit also seeks a restraining order to prevent the city from transferring money from the water utility system to the city’s general fund and to have the Superior Court declare the ordinance is “an unconstitutional violation of the taxing powers” under the state Constitution. None of the townships has a representative on Trenton City Council.