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A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MESSAGE TO THE ANDERSON CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR AND MANAGER
As elected officials responsible for the well being of city residents, you all must be aware of the terrible unemployment, of the rising foreclosures and auto repossessions, of ever increasing number of families without health insurance, unaffordable grocery and fuel prices, empty shelves in food banks and diminishing charitable collections.
Then there are those who have seen 50% or more of their 401Ks, their IRAs, their life savings or their fixed income source, disappear overnight.
What you all seem to have conveniently forgotten is that there are over ten thousand County folks that are living with the above, plus an additional heavy burden, solely due to your water rate policies.
Between April,2002 and October,2008 the Consumer Price Index increased 20%. The CPI category of Fuels and Utilities, which includes water, increased 58%
Meanwhile, you have decided that the average monthly cost of water for Anderson City non-resident customers should pay an increase of 226% for the same period.
Compare that with city residents‘ water rates that you have only increased by 55% during the same period.
Isn’t it time to stop squeezing good folks ( who have no vote ) to subsidize cheap water for those that do have a vote on your political future ?
.
Non-residents pay double for the same amount of water as you use. Every month you pay your water bill, remember, if you lived inches over the city line you would be paying
that bill twice.
Only one of today’s local ’Great Recession’ problems can be solved in seconds, and guess who can do it ?
Keep your word and return to the single rate you PROMISED State Legislators.
Dr. Reverend West wrote that Jesus would say that institutions and individuals have obligations and responsibilities to have right relationships with each other.
I ask you to practice that kind of morality not just on Sunday but seven days a week..
As you sit in your warm house with many gifts under the tree and a bounty of food in the kitchen, why not give a small gift to those not as fortunate.
Reverse this awful 100% tax !
Become the Christians you purport to be ! Live the words of HE for whom this season is celebrated.
Give rather than receive. . .do unto others. . .love thy neighbors. . .goodwill toward all. . .
Merry Christmas !
Pappy- Won't ever happen. They (Electric City Utilities) are too happy rolling in the dough!
It will be too late when they acquire another utility monopoly and have doubled rates for water, power, gas and, who knows, maybe phone!
Pappy,
Once again you suckered me in to reading another diatribe on your water problem with the City. I have offered my $50 deposit that they have now held illegally for six years plus the interest which they have collected on it to start a fund of all those interested in confronting the City of Anderson on this problem. How much more can I do? 
Petunia, what do you mean "deposit that they have now hold illiegally" I always thought it was weird that the water company is the only untility that does not return your deposit after 1 year. However I did not realize that it was illegal. Can you further explain
No more illegal than using the extra water fees collected from non-residents to help fund the city's General Fund,
thus keeping city residentstaxes low.'
thus keeping city residentstaxes low.'
Pappy,
Once again you suckered me in to reading another diatribe on your water problem with the City. I have offered my $50 deposit that they have now held illegally for six years plus the interest which they have collected on it to start a fund of all those interested in confronting the City of Anderson on this problem. How much more can I do? [image]
-petunia1
Petunia,
I appreciate your continued interest. I know that city residents have an advantage over water rates.
They can vote for the rascals that determine water rates.
But don’t you think, in your heart of hearts, that there is something intrinsically wrong when a government-owned, not-for-profit, utility increases outside rates more than four times the amount they increase inside rates. Remember they operate a monopoly without any State or legal oversight.
To make the cheese more binding, my neighbors living just across the street get water from an investor-owned, for profit, utility which is required BY LAW to have a single rate. According to the latest figures available, their rate was more than 40% lower than ours.
Have a merry Christmas.
Pappy who supplies your water? I mean what company Like I have Hammond Water which is the same as some Bear company, I know this cause they are both in the same small building.
Pappy who supplies your water? I mean what company Like I have Hammond Water which is the same as some Bear company, I know this cause they are both in the same small building.-noeline
Noeline,
My water is supplied by the City of Anderson. The utility is called Electric City Utilities. According to a June survey done by Anderson, you pay over 20% less for an average month's water than I do. You even pay less than Anderson city rersidents do.
Then I have to wonder if anyone else is in your situation, I mean no one, on the blog is in the same situation at least no one that has said anything. So couldn't you go around to your neighbors and get a petition signed in order to bring the water company before the utilities commision ( Does SC have a utilities com?). Anyway couldn't you then have the commision look into whether this two tiered rate thing is legal and if not the commision would then make the water company fix the problem, Right?
I am in the exact same position as Pappy.
I built my home in Anderson County and had Duke Energy water (regulated by the SC PSC) for many years before the rug was swept out from under us.
The City can do what they want. They can charge us 9000.00 a month for water and under current law there is nothing we can do.
Our glorious legislators ignore the issue.
Our County Council is too busy suing each other and bickering to help us.
We need to win the Jackpot and file a lawsuit.
Know any good (pro bono) lawyers?
Dear Noeline,
The SC Public Service Commission has no oversight on utilities owned by a municipality.
There are over 10,000 County citizens affected by this high rate.
The SC Public Service Commission has no oversight on utilities owned by a municipality.
There are over 10,000 County citizens affected by this high rate.
Noeline- To add insult to this injury, any time a 'new' customer signs up for water, even if the pipes have been in place for fifty years, ECU will not provide service unless you sign a restrictive covenant agreement that binds you and every subsequent property owner to SIGN AWAY your power of attorney to the City of Anderson should there be a petition for annexation.
AND you also agree to automatically annex your property into the city if your property becomes contiguous with another property annexed into the city.
Oh, and we can't drill a well. It is against state law if there is a water supply within 300 feet of your property.
We still have free speech and a petition would fall under that, get the 10,000 customers to sign a petition and send it or take it directly to the Gov. or the state assembly. I'm sure they could overturn that ridiculous restrictive covenant agreement. Ya know what, I know you guys don't like Rick Driver or Stan Walch but these two guys seem to know how to organize and get things done, I'm sure some of his listeners are in the same boat as you two. Why not get him involved, they seem to know how to get to the people that can get things done. Just a thought.
Noeline,
I appreciate your thoughts. However, as with most problems in life, solutions are not always available.
I have contacted the Governor. He promised action, which was a letter to the city. The city did not even give him the courtesy of a reply. He has limited power over municipalities, the 'home rule' gimmik, I guess.
The State Senate Judicial Committee took up a bill for consideration, but was unable to get it onto the Senate floor.
At my request Senator Bryant went to the Attorney General. The Senator wrote that the AG never responded.
So, who do you send a petition to ?
Like I said give it to Rick Driver and Stan see what they could do with it. Rick Driver seems to want to take on government wrong doing so see what he and his group can do. In addition contact Dan Harvel and his group see if they can help. All of the above mentioned people seem to be able to get things done when no one else can. You may not agree with them all of the time but they do seem to get things done when no one else seems to be able to. Hell I would try anything and everything, especially since you are being screwed and not even getting kissed.
Rick...Rick who? Let's Call OPRAH!
:-)
Like I said give it to Rick Driver and Stan see what they could do with it. Rick Driver seems to want to take on government wrong doing so see what he and his group can do. In addition contact Dan Harvel and his group see if they can help. All of the above mentioned people seem to be able to get things done when no one else can. You may not agree with them all of the time but they do seem to get things done when no one else seems to be able to. Hell I would try anything and everything, especially since you are being screwed and not even getting kissed.-noeline
Rick Driver, , ,Dan Harvel. . .surely you jest !
-1
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I doubt that Rick and his crowd would give pappy the time of day. Remember, pappy is in 'their' camp noeline, and you are correct: we, the open government group in Rick's camp have and can get things done. Our hands are full for now with the Preston/Cunningham thing but the water thing is on the agenda for a later date.
I doubt that Rick and his crowd would give pappy the time of day. Remember, pappy is in 'their' camp noeline, and you are correct: we, the open government group in Rick's camp have and can get things done. Our hands are full for now with the Preston/Cunningham thing but the water thing is on the agenda for a later date.
-prevail
Deam on, little man.
Remember that Rick supported Shirley and gave him air time to knock me. When I asked him for equal time, he turned me down.
Surprise, surprise, look who lost.
