Erie County Water Authority Increasing Rates Next Year

It’s always the same excuse and always for major infrastructure repairs and upgrades. How many employees are actually at this “Authority”? What are the salaries? What is their overall budget? We know they are all government jobs with pensions and healthcare for the rest of their lives. I would love to see a complete audit of this authority to account for every penny. We pay more for water here than I ever paid for water in the desert southwest. We are surrounded by water here and out there, water has to be sent down from the California mountains. nickel and diming us to death. Like Poloncarz new budget, it’s the same as a couple cups of coffee year in and year out, the increases never seem to stop when the government is in control of anything. They just rip it out of our pockets to satisfy their every whim.

Buffalo, N.Y. – The Erie County Water Authority, which has come under repeated criticism for its hiring practices and salaries, is increasing bills in 2013.

On Thursday, the authority’s three commissioners approved a budget that will add a $12 annual infrastructure surcharge to next year’s bills.

The authority says the money raised through the surcharge will be dedicated to paying for major infrastructure upgrades at the authority’s two water treatment plants and for new water mains, among other capital projects.

With the new surcharge, a typical customer will see their bill increase from $260 to $272 next year.

Next year in the budget we passed, we’re talking about investing $20 million in infrastructure, and the whole point of that is to keep our costs down long term and make sure we’re providing the service that ratepayers expect from us,” said Jack O’Donnell one of the three commissioners.

The authority is not cutting any jobs as part of its new budget.

2 On Your Side revealed over the summer that the Authority had hired the future sister-in-law of Erie County Republican chairman Nick Langworthy for a $55,000 a year job as a secretary, the authority also hired County Executive Mark Poloncarz’s brother for a $55,000 a year job to monitor the contracts that the Water Authority enters into.

Both were hired on a temporary basis without the jobs first being posted to the public.

The Authority says both will have to take civil service tests during the first half of 2013, and be among the top three scorers, in order to keep their jobs permanently.

The Authority says its water rates are the second lowest in Western New York.

Water Authority Increasing Rates Next Year