Delaware County Council questions DELCORA’s political ad purchases

Delaware County Council is questioning the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority’s use of ratepayer dollars to conduct political advertising as a court battle looms over the authority’s futurea.

“The fact that DELCORA’s politically-appointed leadership is misusing their customers’ money to pay for political ads is outrageous and unprecedented,” said county council spokesman Jeff Sheridan. “Customers across Delaware County should be furious and demand that DELCORA return the money used to pay for these political ads.”

According to information online and provided by Sheridan, DELCORA spent $11,730 for radio ad buys between May 29 and June 3, as well as $5,048 in Facebook ads running June 2-June 8, for a total $16,778.

The Facebook ad asserts viewers should tell county council to “stay out of our pockets” and stop a “$1.2 billion wave,” while the radio spot claims county council wants listeners to pay for a “$1.2 billion deficit” by increasing waste water rates and directs them to a website – delcorasaves.com – for more information.

DELCORA Executive Director Robert J. Willert has previously said the authority is expecting rate increases of 10 percent annually as it struggles to meet

$1.2 billion in new expected costs over the next 10 years or so. That can be mitigated with a “rate stabilization fund” as part of a $276.5 million sale to Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater Inc., he said, which would keep increases to 3 percent annually.

County council moved to terminate DELCORA during a June

3 online council meeting and block the creation of a trust that would accept those funds, arguing the no-bid sale was politically motivated and ultimately not in the best interest of rate payers. Those issues are pending before Common Pleas Court Judge Barry Dozor.

When asked for comment on the advertisements, DELCORA spokesman Jay Devine said the authority “felt it very important to educate ratepayers about how council was voting to dramatically increase their rates, especially since it was being stealthfully done during a pandemic and via a teleconference.”