Bill on the table to appoint special master to oversee Sewerage and Water Board billing disputes
By David Jones
Source: FOX 8
March 14, 2024
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Governor Jeff Landry’s special task force examining issues with the Sewerage and Water Board met for the second time Thursday evening to discuss billing and governance, and to hear from the public for the first time.
“[Sewerage and Water Board] wanted me to sign a paper to pay 57 dollars a month, and then pay my regular bill,” one woman told the task force. “I refuse that, because it’s making me look like I owe this bill, and I do not owe this bill.”
Opening public comment, the task force was met with story after story of inaccurate bills and localized street flooding.
“It seems like billing is the number one issue right now,” said task force chair Paul Rainwater. “I’ve had some conversations with city council, legislative delegation in New Orleans, some of the members of the governor’s staff. I think we’ve got an idea about how to deal with the billing.”
One of the ideas already proposed is Senate Bill 305, which would appoint a special master to resolve all S&WB billing disputes.
S&WB maintains billing issues will be corrected with the installation of SMART meters, which remains ongoing.
Officials say that process will wrap up in 2025, but bills for customers who have already received their SMART meters will begin going out next month.
“A person in 2020 was paying seven times more on an inflation-adjusted basis than they were in 1970,” said Rebecca Mowbray, president of the non-profit Bureau of Governmental Research.
“A lot of times decisions are made on political grounds, rather than the objective needs of the Sewerage and Water Board,” Mowbray said.
Pointing to the quasi-governmental form of governance S&WB falls under, including both city and state players, Mowbray said politics can often come into the equation when determining funding levels for S&WB.
S&WB has a board of directors but receives approval for funding from New Orleans City Council.
“The way the city council determines funding for the Sewerage and Water Board is a big part of the problem,” Mowbray said. “The city council doesn’t have a process for evaluating funding requests.”
Another potential solution Mowbray laid out for the task force is the idea of fully merging S&WB into the city.
The Board of Directors, which is an 11-member panel, is led by the Mayor of New Orleans as President. Cantrell also has appointing power for a majority of the board.
S&WB board members who spoke agreed a change is needed.
“Increased vulnerability to sudden, massive rains, stronger tropical events have demonstrated how similar our challenges are across our political boundaries,” said Tyler Antrup.
The task force’s next meeting will be Thursday, March 21 at 10 a.m. at University Medical Center, and the group will be submitting suggested recommendations to Governor Landry the following Thursday.
Fair Use Notice
This site occasionally reprints copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues and to highlight the accomplishments of our affiliates. We believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is available without profit. For more information go to: US CODE: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.