MSD LATEST

As most found out the other night on the MyViewMatters Radio Show MSD is set once again to raise rates 6.5%. As we all know by now, MSD has literally no oversight or allow any public input or questions at Board meetings without prior approval by Bud Shardein and the Board itself.

Want proof? Check this story out by James Bruggers at the CJ: MSD board votes for rate increase The Courier-Journal courier-journal.com. As if that isn't bad enough, Larry Zielke, the million dollar MSD attorney continues to believe he runs the meetings by being the one to stand up against MSD customer Donald Olsen and yell at him that he was "out of order."

When Olson persisted, Zielke said: “You didn’t ask permission first. You will be asked to leave, sir.”

STOP I.T. President, and longtime MSD watchdog Ray Pierce, stood up and asked the obvious question of who was running the meeting as Zielke is supposed to be just an attorney. Of course THEN Chairman Celentano finally steeped in and claimed he was and agreed with Zielke. Big surprise there right?

Celentano certainly does not seem capable of being in the position as Chair when he has to hide behind the attorney to run the meetings for him. All illegally and against any established rules of order.

Zielke and this MSD Board need to come clean as to who really runs the show. Zielke is supposed to be there as an advisor if the board has any questions, but as we know he has run previous meetings, and now stands up against MSD customers who attend the meetings, and is the go to guy for all of MSD.

What gives?

Nowhere can I find any legitimate rules of order that allow Zielke this runaway ego trip. He and Director Bud Shardein rule MSD and it appears that the board is nothing more than a rubber stamp approval authority who works at the whim of Zielke and Shardein.

But of course we have known that for many years as we have outed the shenanigans of these two clowns ad nauseum.

MSD continues to erode our financial well being and will continue to lead us down a path we simply cannot continue. Need proof? Follow previous stories right here Louisville News and Politics: EPA Consent decree: Bankruptcy near for Jefferson County.

Birmingham, Alabama, who has been not so conspicuously dropped from public discussion with MSD, and who at one time was used by Shardein as a model we should follow, is in bankruptcy and suffering for it. Why? Because their MSD played games with $4.3 Billion in debt and we will be right at that same number once the consent decree is funded.

Want more? St. Louis has sued and won when three ratepayers claimed that the new MSD fees needed voter approval under the state's Hancock Amendment. It became a class action suit covering all sewer district customers.

Judge Dildine in July invalidated the new storm water service charge, which based fees on the area of a property that cannot retain water.

Any of this sound familiar? How about the businesses and homes that are paying rates on property that cannot retain water here?

There have been arguments made about how much better we coped with all of the recent rainfall than we did in 1997 when we flooded. MSD of course is trying to take all the credit for this.

Put simply MSD is lying in my opinion.

Why would I say that?

There are many differences in the amount of rain we received now versus then. The biggest one is that in 1997 the rainfall we experienced was an immediate waterfall with most of the rain coming in 36 hours or less.

This time the rainfall came in extended periods of time over several days and weeks. No one could absorb the amount of rainfall we experienced if it had come in mere hours, as it did in 1997, but many can absorb it over time which is what happened with us and luckily so.

This wasn't because MSD was so great but because Mother Nature actually spread the pain out for us. Nice try at spin though.

For more check out the Maurice Sweeney feel good story on MSD in the Courier Journal reader letters: Reader Letters Setting the record straight on MSD The Courier-Journal courier-journal.com

Of course Sweeney never mentioned he was on the preferred hiring list for minority contractors. Surely there could be no conflict in keeping that info out of the letter right?

I will leave you with this article for your review. Jefferson County vs. JP Morgan :: Alabama Consumer Law Blog


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