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Some of you have asked for an example of privatization gone bad:
Prop C Floats CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY OF DRINKING WATER
Citizens of Indianapolis have learned the hard way what can happen when public services get outsourced.
In 2002, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson privatized the city's water system and awarded Veolia Water Indianapolis a $1 billion contract to manage it. Last June, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission opened an investigation into the company after taxpayers complained about substandard water testing, inadequate oversight and poor equipment maintenance.
Veteran water workers told reporters that Veolia management directs workers to ignore state procedures, skimp on safety standards and even change computer documents to make it appear that Veolia is meeting all incentive criteria. A local station also reported that the city contract manager had written an eight-page list to Veolia detailing all of the contractual and verbal promises the company broke. Nonetheless, the city still paid Veolia almost $9 million in incentive money for good performance.
In an on-camera interview, a disguised employee told Fox 59 that he wouldn't drink Veolia's water.
Why do city hall officials tolerate a contractor that has endangered the city's water supply? Why does the Waterworks Board approve nearly every Veolia project and millions in ratepayers' money as incentive to Veolia? An Indianapolis public interest coalition followed the money and uncovered some connections that have proved to be very lucrative for some elected officials.
* William Shrewsberry resigned as Bart Peterson's deputy mayor to become a consultant. He started Shrewsberry and Associates and landed a $260,000 consulting contract with the Department of Waterworks in December 2002. the city has paid Shrewsberry nearly $850,000 since October 2002 for various "professional services."
* Water Board member Jack Bayt owns Crystal Catering. Veolia gave Crystal a three-year contract to run their cafeteria in April 2004. Cafeteria prices increased by 20 percent with the announcement.
* Carlton Curry, the city contract manager, was paid $40,000 to "consult" on the water utility deal. He was then appointed to the Waterworks Board and subsequently voted to give Veolia the $1.8 billion contract. Curry now makes $90,000 a year to oversee that 20-year contract.
The people of Indianapolis have had to learn the hard way about the corruption that can happen when public services are privatized. Their rates have risen and their water supply is endangered so that Veolia and a handful of individuals trusted to serve the public can profit.
San Diego's taxpayers don't have to learn the hard way, but if Mayor Sanders' Proposition C is approved by voters in November, there will be nothing stopping him or future mayors from awarding contracts for public services to city hall insiders with deep pockets.
C = CORRUPTION!!!
See the Links Below for Stories About the Indianapolis Water Privatization Scandal
http://www.nuvo.net/archive/2005/07/27/more_bad_news_for_veolia.html
http://www.citizen.org/cmep/water/us/municipal/indianapolis/index.cfm <http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=100685706&u=956550>
www.indygov.org/eGov/Mayor/home.htm
Contact Us at Info@NOonPropC.com
Citizens Against Corruption - NO on C