by Travis Mateer
Before we get to the recent comments from the water company that the man pictured above, former Mayor John Engen, bought for Missoula, let’s take a look at the bundle of lies this town was told before Engen made some lawyers A LOT of money. I found this excerpt from Truth from the Tap, a campaign of the National Association of Water Companies (emphasis mine):
Beginning in 2010, city officials in Missoula, Montana, launched an effort to purchase Mountain Water, the privately owned local water system.
Following a breakdown in negotiations, the mayor led the city into a government takeover, or condemnation, of the water system. Condemnation advocates in Missoula argued that government ownership would improve accountability, allow for local control, and provide savings to the city and residents.
The record clearly shows that the promises and predictions of condemnation advocates in Missoula proved to be wildly inaccurate. Advocates argued that the system could be purchased for $43 million, yet the final cost has surpassed $105 million and could increase even more. The city estimated legal fees for condemnation would be $400,000, but ended up paying more than $9 million and will likely be on the hook for millions more. The city finally took ownership of the system after multiple delays, following more than three years of litigation and almost a full year after the mayor assured residents that the city was “ready to go” and “had the financing in place” for the purchase.
The very long and expensive takeover process in Missoula serves as a cautionary tale for other communities considering condemnation.
Yep, our former drunk Mayor fucked this up SO BADLY, Missoula has become a “cautionary tale” for any other municipality thinking they can just eminent domain a valuable asset from a corporation without a VERY costly fight.
The cost of water, and what the Public Service Commission CANNOT do about it, is why KGVO decided to do a little story with a little graphic showing the sads that happen when everything gets more and more expensive without any correlating increases in what people are being PAID to live.
From the link (emphasis mine):
The City of Missoula has proposed a series of yearly price increases for water, sewer, and storm water rates that will total approximately 21 percent from 2025 to 2027.
A Talk Back listener brought up this topic to David Sanders, the Executive Director of the Montana Public Service Commission, asking if there was anything the PSC could do to forestall those rate increases.
The response Sanders gives KGVO listeners is hilarious, beginning with the dumb acknowledgment that we have the right to question our government. No shit, Sanders!
Sanders began by stating that the citizens of Missoula and all of Montana have the basic right to question the actions of their elected officials, in this case, the proposed increases in water, sewer, and wastewater rates.
“One of the things that is very important about my job at the Public Service Commission is the input that we get from the public,” began Sanders. “As you know, constitutionally, the people of Montana under Article Two, sections eight and nine of the Montana constitution, the people have a right to know what their government is doing, along with all the subordinate governments to the state and they have a right to participate.”
Was Sanders asked to give listeners a civic lesson? No, he was asked if there was any ACTION his agency could take to protect Missoula rate payers from rate increases. The best part of Sanders is the suggestion that Missoula rate payers ARM THEMSELVES…with facts (emphasis mine):
Having lived in Missoula until recently, Sanders acknowledged the rapid increase in the cost of services.
“Missoula has been facing extraordinarily high increases in costs over the last four years in everything from housing to food to fuel to insurance to health care, you name it,” he said. “With water being one of the necessities of life, it seems like a very large price increase there would have a disastrous effect on a number of people living on the margins.”
Sanders said it’s up to the citizens of Missoula to put pressure on local government to address the cost increases.
“In the case of your municipal utility, it’s really up to the citizens to sort of arm themselves with the facts and scrutinize these rates and then organize frankly within your community to be able to make your voices heard,” he said.
Since David Sanders has lived in Missoula “until recently”, maybe he has witnessed instances of citizens arming themselves with facts and making their voices heard, say with Tax Increment Financing. Shit, I even know someone who made a WHOLE DOCUMENTARY in order to get local voices heard, but how did that work out?
Local citizens CONTINUE to show up in order to make their voices heard, but what generally happens after they are “heard”? Do things change, or does the transformation of Missoula into a playground for wealth just keep moving FULL STEAM ahead?
Missoula’s VERY COSTLY purchase of its water asset is not the only cautionary tale to have occurred in this retarded town, the retaliation against ME for exposing what I know about how our local influencers operate is another tale being written, and it’s being written RIGHT NOW for anyone who cares to see.
There isn’t an ending to MY cautionary tale yet, because there is more action to come, so stay tuned. And if you’re inclined to support someone who has actually ACTED on the type of advice David Sanders is giving Missoula, then please consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.
Thanks for reading!
