Water Warranty?

Both sides should rethink selling use of city names, seals to private businesses

This past October, many Texarkana, Ark., residents were surprised to receive a letter from Service Line Warranties of America offering a warranty on external water lines for a fee of $5.33 a month.

The confusion came from the letter sporting the official Texarkana, Ark., city letterhead and logo and the words “Important Information for City of Texarkana Homeowners.” That led some to assume the warranty was a service offered by the city.

But actually it was the product of an agreement between the company and the city allowing the use of the city’s name in exchange for a royalty.

Now the same thing is happening on the Texas side and some residents may be making the same assumption.

Last year, Arkansas-side Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell told this newspaper she feared the offer was a bit misleading and that she did not want anyone to believe that “our city or water department is asking for five dollars a month.”

Now the Texas side is doing the same sort of damage control, issuing a press release to inform residents that this is not a city or Texas Water Utilities product and that it is not compulsory but simply an option for homeowners.

We understand local governments are always on the lookout for needed cash to fund operations. But in our view this kind of thing reflects badly on both cities.

Although officials made an effort to distance the cities and the warranty offer, no doubt some citizens didn’t get the word. And some may have bought the product thinking it was offered by the city or TWU.

Furthermore, since external waters are often covered by existing homeowners insurance, they may be wasting money.

The small royalty payment on these warranties may be welcome, but not worth the confusion or possible exploitation of residents. Officials should think twice about getting into anything similar in the future. And then just say no.