Hays County Commissioner Ray Whisenant thanked the Board for allowing time for a coalition of local governments "to participate in a positive way" in the bidding process
Editor's note: Below is an update from the LCRA on its plans to sell off its multi-million dollar water and wastewater systems to various interested parties. Hays County commissioners formally entered the county into the bidding last month on a 4-1 vote, with Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones voting No. Pct. 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant reportedly is the county's lead rep and negotiator.
Considering that LCRA's water systems have been losing revenue for years and are waist deep in the red, we're certainly hoping Commissioner Whisenant and County Judge Bert Cobb are doing their utmost due diligence before diving head first into buying a pig in a poke. To borrow an oft used colloquialism from Judge Cobb – on this one especially – the taxpayers need to be at the table or we're sure to be on the menu. Too much information about this potential deal still remains hidden from the taxpaying public.We've said it before and we'll say it again: The county has no business expanding public debt for all the citizens of the county to purchase portions of the LCRA water infrastructure that serves only those in the Dripping Springs ETJ and who are financially able to purchase the infrastructure serving them. For years there have been calls to privatize LCRA and this is a prime opportunity for those being served to either work through their existing developer created utility districts, or to form a member owned water supply corporation, sell bonds and purchase the water infrastructure on which they rely.
Those who cry for less government should speak out now and demand that those who are served by the LCRA infrastructure be responsible for taking ownership, or let the systems be privatized. Hays County is bleeding taxpayer dollars at every level and allowing our elected officials to expand that bleeding should be opposed by every citizen of the County. This ill fated venture will be a disaster and lay the grounds for even higher property taxes for decades to come.
Send your comments and questions to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to LCRA West Travis County systems Janet Stephenson at janet.stephenson@lcra.org, 512.473.3334; to Pct. 4 Hays County Commissioner Ray Whisenant at ray.whisenant@co.hays.tx.us, 512.858.7268; to Judge Cobb at bert.cobb@co.hays.tx.us, 512.393.2205, or click on the "comments" at the bottom of the story
LCRA anticipates recommending a buyer or buyers for its water and wastewater systems at the August 24 Board of Directors meeting.
May 23 was the deadline for interested buyers to submit preliminary bids to BMO Capital Markets, LCRA's financial consultant. The interested bidders have been narrowed to a shortlist, Chief Financial Officer Brady Edwards told the Board Wednesday, June 15. Organizations on that shortlist are now performing detailed due diligence on the systems before submitting final bids.
Three people spoke Wednesday about the Board's plan to sell the systems. Hays County Commissioner Ray Whisenant thanked the Board for allowing time for a coalition of local governments "to participate in a positive way" in the bidding process. Water Control and Improvement District 17 Board President David Steed said he agreed with Whisenant's statements. Jim Rumbo of the Westminster Glen Homeowners Association asked the Board to deal with the system that serves his community in an alternative way.
Also on Wednesday, the City of Sunrise Beach and LCRA agreed to the sale of LCRA's Sunrise Beach water system to the City. The City has maintained an interest in acquiring the system for several years, and after the Board decided in November 2010 to seek a buyer for the utilities, the City and LCRA began earnest negotiations. LCRA and the City will work together to complete the sale by mid-December 2011.
LCRA's Board decided Nov. 17 to seek a buyer or buyers for its water and wastewater systems and two of its raw water pumping systems. LCRA believes it will take until mid-2013 to complete the sale. LCRA remains committed to continuing to provide reliable utility service to our customers during this process.
The Board will choose a buyer or buyers based on these criteria:
Ability and commitment to provide reliable, quality utility services;
Ability to invest capital for needed infrastructure;
Commitment to meeting state regulatory requirements; and
Willingness to compensate LCRA for its investment.
For more information, visit www.lcra.org/divestiture
14 comments:
FYI, BMO Capital Markets is the securities and investment banking division of the Bank of Montreal (Canada).
This is another example of local money going to either another state or country paid for expertise (although better Canada than the Middle East or the China Development Bank).
It is not as if the financial expertise to do this deal - whether good or bad - is not available here in Texas where we need the money.
We have a local seller and a local buyer. I wonder if LCRA (as the seller) and the County (as the buyer) even considers such financial benefits of having a local or regional banking firm when negotiating these deals.
Herein lies one of the problems America faces. The local economies are ignored or shunned for expediency and simplicity.
Just another pig-in-a-poke brought to you by your local hard charging tax and spend GOP.
Switched to Independent got it partly correct.
The GOP is borrow, go to war, lie to the middle class, and cut taxes for the rich.
The Dems are tax the rich, kiss GOP butt, lie a little less to the middle class, and hope for the best.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Whisenant continues to say that revenue bonds to purchase LCRA facilities will be paid off ONLY by the users of the LCRA water (which users are folks in Dripping Springs and some along Highway 290 West). There probably are not enough users in that area to pay even the interest on the bonds.
Who, actually, is going to pay off these revenue bonds which will benefit only a small part of Hays
county?
Think maybe they want to run a water pipe line to Wimberley. And doesn't J.Powers own a bunch of property along RR12? There's more to this deal than what meets the eye! JH
nice lookin' pig!
Of course there is more to the deal than meets the eye. We are in Texas dealing with good ol boys in an almost fanatical free markets environment.
Most taxpayers only care when the public fund abusers are the WVWA types or land protection spending.
The "healthy" development tax pirates who steal water and pave the way for more housing and commercial development always get a pass from the right wing anti-tax hypocrites.
At least Sam Brannon and his group are consistent right wingers who challenge the hypocritical right wingers.
This is yet another opportunity for you liberal no-growth water fanatic types to come out of the woodwork to criticize and complain about being in Texas, why don't you do us both a favor, MOVE! Why is it always about 'good ole boys', free markets and development with you people? Now you bring up 'J. Powers' to cap it off. What a piece of work you are! It must be tough being a very small minority here. I guess if you can't be right you have to be loud.
Redneck rapper Da Kingfish continues the foolishness of the water gluttons who support this LCRA purchase against their own interests.
He/she rants about the liberal assault on the LCRA deal which will raise his taxes but he is so robotic with the pro-growth mindset he cannot see beyond his own myopia.
Kingfish,
I don't complain about living in Texas. I complain about what our selfish and misguided politicians are doing to our state. It's changing -- and not for the better.
Da Kingfish thinks all of us who complain about this bad water deal are liberals.
What a fool. We can all see a bad tax drain deal when we see it.
Da Kingfish clearly cannot spell the word "The", so what the hell does he know.
To the anonymous who mentioned my name...
We have nothing like Free Markets. What we see in this deal is crony capitalism. Same thing that happens at the state level, and at the federal level. And they're all eating our lunch.
It operates by them taking what's yours and giving it to their friends, sometimes including so-called "land protectors".
If anyone wants to argue about what they should take, from who, and where it should be distributed, sorry... I'm not interested.
If you want to help us try to keep them from bankrupting us and further killing our economy, we could use the help.
Sam Brannon and group are "right wingers"???
What drugs are you taking?
Rocky:
Good points and I totally agree with you on this issue.
Most of the time I purchase local goods and services. It is only when there is no such choice that I go outside the inner loop. Local government should be doing the same.
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