Editor's Notebook: A quick refresher on Measure F
Steve Hunt
shunt@vvdailypress.com
Apple Valley voters will go to the polls Tuesday (or mail in their ballots) to decide the future of the town's water, at least as far as they are able to do so.
Measure F has been about as contentious an issue as we've seen in some time, with proponents and opponents bombarding our Opinion page for months with arguments for and against.
We've attempted to bring clarity to the issue by running competing op-ed columns and hundreds and hundreds of inches of letters to the editor, as well as writing stories sharing both sides.
To those of you who don't live in Apple Valley, we appreciate you putting up with it. Fortunately, it'll all be over soon.
For those of you who do live in the town, here's a quick refresher on what Measure F is all about and how it may affect you:
If a majority of voters cast YES ballots on Tuesday, the Town of Apple Valley will be authorized to spend up to $150 million in revenue bonds to proceed with its eminent domain action against Liberty Utilities. This eminent domain action has been in the court system for some time already and was prompted by Liberty Utilities' (or before it, Apple Valley Ranchos') repeated significant rate hikes, which were approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. Significant represents 10 percent or more per year.
The concern among the Town Council, which was one of the reasons it decided to try to take over the water system, is that Liberty will continue to ask for and receive significant rate hikes well into the future, leading to higher and higher water costs. Under California law, there is ample reason to believe this will be the case, as private water companies have a guaranteed profit margin. Since Liberty Utilities customers already pay significantly higher rates than any other High Desert residents, the Town Council worries that water costs will ultimately impact home values and make it difficult to attract new business, hindering the growth that cities depend on for economic viability and vitality.
If a majority of voters cast NO ballots on Tuesday, the Town of Apple Valley will likely end its eminent domain action. That's because without voter approval to spend money on the water company, it would likely have no way to buy the company even if it did win in court. Liberty Utilities, as one would expect of any company battling for its life, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to convince voters that it provides water at a reasonable price, is making necessary improvements to its system of wells, pipes and the like and has the best interests of its customers at heart.
Liberty also maintains it runs its business well simply because it has expertise in running a water company. The company argues the town would lack such necessary expertise, and thus wouldn't be able to save the amount of money necessary to provide rate decreases to customers. In fact, Liberty believes the town would be getting in way over its head, which in turn could leave customers in a difficult situation.
One of the more interesting aspects of this campaign has been the opinions of two respected economists, Dr. John Husing and Chris Thornberg. Husing has been an Inland Empire expert for years, while Thornberg gained worldwide fame at UCLA's Anderson School of Business for being one of the few to correctly predict the housing bubble that crashed our economy in 2008.
Husing believes Liberty customers will see their rates rise by up to $500 per year if the town takes over the water company, has to pay $150 million to do so and is unable to get revenue bonds at an interest rate less than 10 percent.
Thornberg says Husing has it all wrong. He said after studying all the data, the town won't have to pay anywhere close to $150 million for the water company if it wins in court, and that there is no reason to believe that the interest rate on its revenue bonds would be more than 5 percent. Because of that, Thornberg thinks it is possible Liberty customers could see rate decreases if the town takes over the water system.
So there you have it, in a nutshell. If you believe the town and Thornberg, want the Town Council to try to take over the water system and have had enough of rate hikes and high water costs, you'll want to vote Yes on Measure F.
If you believe Liberty Utilities and Husing, are unhappy that the Town Council would even think of taking over a private company, think current rates and water costs are acceptable, and believe the town might have to sock you for $500 more per year if it wins in court, you'll want to vote No on Measure F.
And why is this called Measure F? I don't really know. Some might say it stands for folly, others might argue it stands for freedom. But the way I see it, F stands for future. In Apple Valley, we'll find out more about what the future may hold for water on Tuesday.
Steve Hunt can be reached at 760-951-6270 or at SHunt@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at 760-951-6270 and be sure to vote on Tuesday if you live in Apple Valley.