It appears that out of nowhere an effort to privatize our Water Works is moving to the fast track. With the cutbacks in state aid to cities, Milwaukee’s comptroller has promulgated the idea of leasing our very successful Water Works to a private company--probably a large multinational corporation based in Europe, since that is where the few corporations that could qualify are based. The long-term lease would be in the range of 75 or 99 years. The idea is that Milwaukee would get a large lump sum for the lease and then create the equivalent of a yearly endowment to help fill the budget gap caused by the cutbacks in state aid.
Unless you believe in magic, you have to realize that the only way a multinational company could pay what some estimate to be up to $500 million to lease the Water Works, add another layer of management based in Europe and make a profit is to significantly raise rates. That has been the experience in other communities that have tried this.
Currently, everyone seems to agree that the Water Works have been upgraded after the cryptosporidium outbreak in the 1990s and that Milwaukee’s tap water is some of the best in the world. Also, no one has argued that there is waste or mismanagement at the Water Works.
So what is the real issue? Because of this “no new taxes” mantra of the right wing, policy-makers have been intimidated and are very reluctant to increase rates for anything--and that includes water. So if you lease the Water Works to a private company, even with the understanding that it causes the cost structure to increase significantly, the aldermen do not have to take the tough vote to raise the water rates. They will let the private company with the 75-year lease take the hit for raising taxes--and since their lease will outlive anyone reading this editorial, they don’t particularly care.
