Voters will decide in November whether Toledo will form a regional water commission, but even if the proposal passes at the ballot box it remains unclear if any suburbs will join the new body.
Toledo City Council by an 11-0 vote during a special meeting Tuesday approved a request from the Kapszukiewicz administration to put a question on the ballot to amend the city’s charter and form the new commission.
Councilman Larry Sykes was out of town on city business and absent for the vote.
It’s the latest step in a process that dates back two years as officials from Toledo and the suburbs that buy its water have tried to reach a consensus around how to form a regional water system.
Toledo City Council voted to send the regional water commission proposal to the November ballot. It’s up to the voters now. Stay tuned for more. pic.twitter.com/m8vLW8KEjC
— Sarah Elms (@BySarahElms) August 21, 2018
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz pitched his plan to form a regional water commission after it became clear that the majority of city council members didn’t support his initial plan to form a Toledo Area Water Authority. TAWA is the strategy leaders from Toledo and its suburbs pledged in January to pursue, but its popularity among Toledoans dried up because the city would have had to lease or sell its water system to the new regional authority.
While leaders from Toledo suburbs initially backed the TAWA plan, they’ve been less receptive to the regional water commission because it allows Toledo to retain veto power over setting rates.
For now Lucas County remains Toledo’s only current water customer not exploring other drinking water sources.
Sylvania and Monroe County are jointly studying what it would take to connect to Detroit’s Great Lakes Water Authority; Maumee, Perrysburg, and the Northwestern Water and Sewer District are looking into the possibility of connecting to Bowling Green’s system; and a cohort of Toledo’s suburbs are investigating the Michindoh Aquifer.
Still, Toledo officials on Tuesday lauded city council’s move to place the water commission question on the ballot.
“After 40 years of discussion and debate, we voted to create a regional water system that protects ratepayers, gives our suburbs decision-making power, and saves our region hundreds of millions of dollars,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz, who was also out of town on city business Tuesday, said in a statement. “This is only one step in the process, but make no mistake, it is a historic step.”
If Toledo voters approve the charter amendment, officials will form a regional water commission made up of the utility directors from each community that decides to buy Toledo’s water. Toledo would have two representatives, while the suburban customers would each have one.
One of Toledo’s two representatives would always serve as either the president or secretary of the new commission, something Councilman Yvonne Harper pushed to have added to the charter language. Council members also insisted language was added to ensure discounted rates would be offered to seniors, low-income assistance would be available, and a lead-line replacement program would be part of the new deal.
“I wholeheartedly support this,” Ms. Harper said.
The commission would recommend water rates for all customers and would weigh in on what capital improvements may be needed at the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant and other infrastructure, which would remain owned by Toledo.
Toledo and Lucas County would pay a retail rate with meter-reading and maintenance services included, and the suburbs would pay a uniform wholesale rate as meter-reading and other services will remain the responsibility of their respective municipalities.
RELATED: Thousands of Toledo residents pay for water they don’t use
The exact rates have not yet been determined, and it’s information suburban leaders say they need before they can decide whether they’re on board with Toledo’s new commission. If they opt to find water elsewhere, rates for Toledo and Lucas County water users likely will go up.
“We have not seen any proposal from the city of Toledo,” Perrysburg Mayor Tom Mackin said. “My understanding is that the technical people are still working together to identify the actual cost of water, and I think that will be important because that will give a true value as to what it really costs.”
Former Toledo mayor Carty Finkbeiner, an early critic of regional water under the TAWA plan, said he supports @ElectWade and city council in its efforts to form a regional water commission. pic.twitter.com/mf2tu1XP9M
— Sarah Elms (@BySarahElms) August 21, 2018
Mr. Mackin said he is keeping all options open when it comes to drinking water, but he would have preferred to see northwest Ohio’s communities come together under the TAWA plan.
“We’re glad that Toledo is moving forward. We would have preferred that the TAWA proposal be presented to the residents as well, as I continue to think that is the best global approach to resolving an issue that impacts the entire region,” he said.
Sylvania Mayor Craig Stough, who has advocated for a regional water system since Toledo’s water was fouled by toxic algae in 2014, said he is more interested in seeing Toledo’s rate proposals to the suburbs than in the procedural charter change.
He said he is willing to keep Toledo as an option for Sylvania water users, but he’s most concerned that Mr. Kapszukiewicz’s regional water commission doesn’t have a plan for a back-up water source.
“I feel that redundancy is important,” he said. “Toledo has not indicated how they would address the redundancy issue, and perhaps going to another water source is necessary for Sylvania to have access to two water sources.”
Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce officials in a statement expressed their disappointment with Tuesday’s vote. They would much prefer the city pursue the TAWA route, a proposal they helped facilitate.
“Regrettably Toledo has chosen to continue to politically manage our region's water system,” the statement said.
Former Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, who formed the citizen group Protect Our Water, was an early opponent of the TAWA plan but threw his full support behind Mr. Kapszukiewicz’s proposal Tuesday.
“The mayor and his associates came up with a compromise that an awful lot of us think was a brilliant compromise,” Mr. Finkbeiner said. “It leaves this region working together, and it leaves Toledo in ownership of the water.”
Councilman Nick Komives, who chairs the water quality and sustainability committee, said he was happy with Tuesday’s vote but acknowledged the city still needs to improve the way it delivers drinking water.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but I am encouraged by the number of upgrades that have been made to our plant and how truly state of the art it is and our show of commitment to this region to providing affordable, good quality water.”
Contact Sarah Elms at selms@theblade.com, 419-724-6103, or on Twitter @BySarahElms.
First Published August 21, 2018, 6:17 p.m.
