Holyoke BPW votes to privatize, Citizens group says "Not So Fast!"

Holyoke Citizens for Open Government (HCOG) protests the rush to judgment by the Board of Public Works last night to sign a 20-year, $160m contract with Aquarion Services Company to upgrade and run the city's wastewater treatment plant. The decision to privatize is now in the hands of the mayor, however the mayor has stated publicly and privately that he will not sign the contract with Aquarion until the city council approves an 82% hike in the sewer rate to fund the project. Since the city has not been forthcoming about whether or not this increase is to fund operation by Aquarion, or continued public operation, The HCOG demand that the members of the finance committee vote AGAINST the rate increase until the issue of who will handle the CSO problem, the city or Aquarion is, resolved.

Holyoke Citizens for Open Government(HCOG) is concerned that this decision-making process is flawed, and numerous questions remain unanswered.

-Our City Councilors have repeatedly asked the BPW what the real costs to Holyoke would be if the city decided to reverse privatization and no satisfactory answers to this have been forthcoming.

-We call for greater transparency and full public disclosure of the real costs of privatization.

-We want a public hearing where the city officials and residents can considerr public alternatives to solve the city's problem, so the residents of Holyoke understand that the city's ratepayers do have the option to fund a public project to clean up the river.

We demand that the City of Holyoke :

-mail post cards to all ratepayers informing them when, where and how the proposed contract is available for review and informing them of a new deadline for public comment to be set six weeks from the date the mailing is sent out. While we realize this is an additional expense, we think this tiny expenditure should have been a line item in the public funds expended for developing the request for proposal for a contract.

-hold a public hearing several weeks after the ratepayers have been informed;

-continue to make available a final copy of the contract for review in the office of the Department of Public Works, the Holyoke Public Library and, upon request, in a file for those who wish computer access (as HCOG requested in November.)

City councilors supporting the citizens group include: Jourdain, mentioned above; Helen Norris, Ward 3; Lilian Santiago. Ward 1; Mark A. Lubold, Ward 6, and Elaine Pluta, at-large.