‘HOSTILE TAKEOVER’
Mayor and others think Assembly proposal for Water Works goes too far
TRENTON » Reed Gusciora favored legislative intercession to fix shortcomings at the troubled Trenton Water Works when he was an assemblyman.
But now that he’s mayor of the city of Trenton, he thinks he can save TWW.
Gusciora wrote a scathing letter Monday addressed to 15th district leaders calling on them to oppose Hamilton Democrat Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo’s bill that would put TWW under the oversight of a regional commission.
The commission would have a say in many of the water utility’s big decisions.
Gusciora told The Trentonian he felt the bill was an attempted “hostile takeover” of the city’s water utility that would hurt TWW customers in the long haul if passed.
The mayor, during a phone conversation Monday with DeAngelo, called on him to pull the bill from consideration, which was co-sponsored by Assemblyman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, a former Trenton council member.
DeAngelo told The Trentonian he was “dismayed” to learn late Monday that Reynolds-Jackson had yanked her support of the bill.
“It’s just local politics,” said DeAngelo, who will push the bill forward hoping it is scheduled for a public hearing sometime during the upcoming fall legislative sessions. “When Reed was not the mayor, he was supportive. Now that he’s the mayor, he believes he has a plan that’s going to solve the problem.”
Following more research and meetings with special interest groups, ReynoldsJackson explained she was in favor of “a different type of structure,” such as an advisory board with cityappointed members. She thought the current proposed legislation was “too restrictive and would undermine the mayor and city council.”
In his sharply worded letter, Gusciora, a longstanding critic of former Gov. Chris Christie, accused the assemblyman of picking up “where the Christie administration left off in forcing/encouraging the sale of TWW,” which has been hounded by numerous public missteps and gaffes.
“One can only conclude, due to the multi layers of oversight resultant from the proposed legislation that the intent of the bill would be to privatize TWW,” Gusciora wrote. “While I understand past frustrations with TWW as well as the apparent lack of timely response from City Administration, I want to assure you that we are taking such criticism seriously and addressing any such outstanding issues. While S2831/A4243 has laudable aims, the bill(s) would actually be counterproductive and not result in any achievable gains in water quality.”
DeAngelo bit back at the suggestion his bill paves the way for any state takeover off TWW saying it is intended to give neglected suburban communities more of a say in the operation and management of TWW since many of their concerns have “fallen on deaf ears.”
“If the mayor believes this is picking up where Christie left off, he’s 100 percent wrong,” DeAngelo said.
TWW has been under intense pressure for change since the Eric Jackson administration faced stiff criticism over TWW’s shortcomings.
The former DEP commissioner Bob Martin questioned whether TWW was jeopardizing the health and safety of customers in Trenton and the surrounding suburbs.
The drumbeat of criticism resulted in a legislative hearing at the Statehouse last March in which Hamilton councilwoman Illeana Schirmer called for a criminal investigation into TWW.
Looking to quash some of that noise, Gusciora signed off last month on a no-nonsense Administrative Consent Order with DEP that put the city under strict supervision.
Any failure to comply with the agreement could have severe consequences for the city which risks being taken to court.
At least one city council member felt the ACO set up the city for failure.
DeAngelo said he believed Gusciora intends to try to right the ship but he couldn’t bank on words.
“I still believe the four surrounding towns needs to have a seat at the table,” the assemblyman said.
The language in the bill proposes empowering a 17-member Mercer Regional Water Services Commission with oversight of everything from rate raises to infrastructure operations and compliance.
The bill would give the commission power to sign off on contracts TWW enters into that are over $10,000.
Gusciora felt more oversight of TWW isn’t the answer being that it is already being closely monitored and scrutinized by DEP and the state Department of Community Affairs, which must also approve hiring and financial decisions under a Memorandum of Understanding.
Many of the decisions affecting TWW also go before City Council for advice and consent, such as millions in contracts that went to outside engineering firms approved by the legislative body approved to street the water utility back on the right track.
“All [the bill][ is doing is tying Trenton Water Works’ hands so it takes that much more time to do anything,” Gusciora said.