| Forgive me for taking the standard "Three Blind Mice" to a higher plane, but after the five-person Select Board of Longmeadow published the new water/sewer rates, I believe the name I gave them fits. Although not one selectperson has had even one day of experience in product distribution, they arrived at a rate schedule that is opposite what the costs really are. My over 20 years experience in this field leads me to the above conclusion. In the real world of commerce, if they tried to get these rates they would be out of business as the competition arrived. Since they have a captive customer base (we can't buy water elsewhere), we have to depend on their honesty, integrity and intellect to provide us with fair service. Honesty and integrity in a politician? That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one! I don't know how they arrived at their figures. I understand that the unit calculation is based on projected cost increases from Springfield, not actual numbers. My increase will be 100 percent! No, there's no missing decimal point. Inflation? Like the third world. They say the high unit cost is to keep usage down to conserve water. According to state water commission figures, we have enough water for several years of no water rainfall before we are in trouble. We need a full explanation of these arbitrary numbers. A special meeting is called for. Sam Altman Longmeadow |
