Hightower neglect means pay more for less service

To add injury to insult, not only do some Shreveport residents suffer from low water pressure, they’re paying much more for it, too.

Months ago, the city lectured residents the reason why water rates were zooming upwards was because they weren’t using enough of it. Now they’re using plenty of it but rates aren’t going down because they increase in them have been mandated by law. There are two reasons why more money must get sucked from ratepayers for water.

First, a colossal accounting error turned as to be the main source of the city’s complaints about low reserves in the enterprise fund dealing with water provision. The city tries to set a rate structure that provides a bit of “profit” in each gallon consumed so that during dry times higher usage funds build up that can be drawn down upon later during wetter periods where usage goes down, and hopefully leave a little aside for quick maintenance.

The problem was the rate increases (accelerated, no less) were computed and timed on the basis of this $4.6 million mistake. With some actuarial competence present, the increases could have come later, and perhaps not even as much. We can thank Mayor Keith Hightower for this, who, instead of paying attention to putting managers in place who would catch these things and then riding herd over these appointees, would rather hobnob with financiers, builders, and cronies to build monuments to his reign like convention centers and hotels that will end up costing taxpayers more than they’re worth.

Which leads to the other reason, the neglect of the water and sewerage infrastructure. Selling bonds to fix it can work only in a limited way as, courtesy of the aforementioned Hightower monuments, the city’s bonding capacity has closed in on exhaustion. Thus, the next best way (other than dipping into general tax revenues) to fund repairs is by raising water rates (although given the large amount of needed repairs and relatively small amounts being built up in reserve, only short-term needs can be addressed this way). Thus are the wages of mismanagement which starts at the very top.

So, as residents’ pay more for a trickle of water, they can thank the man who would rather put on a nice shirt to schmooze and to enjoy the glamour of being mayor than roll up his sleeves and get to work on the mundane things that make the city a good place for citizens to live.