Tea Party water rate protest getting continued coverage

Attorney General didn’t hire experts to insure public’s interests are met

The Northern Kentucky Tea Party’s battle to stop an enormous, 25 percent hike in water rates in their region continues to expose more questions about public servants’ performance.

This latest from the Kentucky Enquirer mentions highly questionable spending (earlier identified as using tax dollars to purchase such things as flowers and back massages for water district staffers) by the Northern Kentucky Water District, which even the state attorney general’s office indicates "are, at best, uncomfortably on the border of a lawful action."

Another shocker in the Enquirer’s article:

“Unlike in some other cases, Attorney General Jack Conway's office did not hire its own experts to examine and challenge the water district's need for all or part of the rate hike.”

It’s Conway’s job to represent the public in such hearings. He’s not a municipal water supply expert. Without outside experts, how could he possibly know, even if complex technology changes required by unfunded mandates from Washington do have to be implemented, whether the actual costs claimed by the water district are accurate?

The rate hikes under review in Northern Kentucky will set precedents for all subsequent water company rate hike requests from other regions of the state. This initial process needs a full and thorough examination; so far, it isn’t getting it – except for Tea Party activists.