Crossville City Council said during a Tuesday Work Session, it is not interested in making an offer to merge with the West Cumberland Utility District.
West Cumberland approached the city last month. Crossville Finance Director Nathan Clouse said it would take over six months to get actual numbers to determine the impact of a merger. Crossville Mayor RJ Crawford said he thinks the city does not have the time to pursue the merger.
“I don’t want to waste any more time of our employees, unless you guys really want to do this,” Crawford said. “They have a pretty good offer from CPWA (Cumberland Plateau Water Authority), I mean, we can do what you want, but it just seems like a lot of work for a lot of other things going on.”
Clouse said last year’s audit showed that West Cumberland owed roughly $2.7 million, and that the city would have to pay an estimated $1 million to help pay the debt off. Clouse said preliminary numbers showed that a merger would have helped West Cumberland.
“The best I can tell you is yes, the employees of West Cumberland would benefit,” Clouse said. “There would be raises. Our benefit package is better than what they currently have. So they would benefit on that front, and yes, the ratepayers would see a reduction in their current rate. I can’t tell you exactly what that would be because there is a lot of factors in that. Three to four weeks is just not enough to negotiate out.”
The Tennessee Comptrollers Office said it still favors a total merger of the county’s water governance through the Cumberland Water Authority. Assistant Director of Local Government and Tennessee Board of Utility Regulation Manager Ross Colona said it would stabilize utility districts, lowers water rates, and creates a better chance of creating more water sources in the region.
Colona said his office and the board had a great pause when they heard that Crossville may not reach a deal with the water authority and considered a merger with West Cumberland.
“It seems like we are moving in a great direction with the authority, because you can even ask the comptroller’s office, every day we love dealing with authorities and utility districts,” Colona said. “No offense to you all, or the city council, but the moment that politics are pulled away from utilities… utilities grow because politics are no longer factored in to any decisions. That’s the benefit of authorities and utility districts. You don’t have to worry about getting voted in. They are just in charge of utility. They have nothing else to be concerned about; it’s just the utility.”
Colona also said he has not heard an argument against the merger that is not political. Some comments were made by people in attendance that regulatory agencies have rejected several previous ideas to create water supply. Colona said even if the water authority does not create more water supply in the region, residents would still get the benefits of lower water rates.
Council Member Mark Fox asked if every utility district merged with the water authority except Crossville, would Crossville still be needed? Colona said the city could not afford not to merge if that was the case.
“When you are charging $4.50 for two utility districts to buy water from you, and then a $1.70 for the Catoosa system to buy water inside,” Colona said. “I don’t know if you all can afford to lose those wholesale customers and not put a big rate increase on your current customers.”