17999_Authority_December

I am once again honored and humbled to write to you, this time as the outgoing Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association president. Just about every former PMAA president I spoke with told me that the year would fly by, and they did not lie! While the year did fly by quickly, I think that we were able to accomplish quite a bit. In the past few years, the private water and sewer companies have declared open season on municipal authorities, but we as a group have fought back hard and seen many successes recently. Rejected and withdrawn offers in Southeastern Pennsylvania and legislative gains in Harrisburg have given us momentum that we must seize upon. The momentum is finally on our side, and we must carry that momentum forward! While the overturning of Act 12 might not be something we can see in the next year, the weakening of it through the introduction of new pieces of legislation is actually happening. The PUC, as well as other state agencies, is starting to make decisions that are friendly to our cause and the momentum will continue to shift our way. Last year, at the conference, I stood before you, the membership, and pledged to work to make information available to our members on how to fight privatization. We put together a committee to come up with a strategy, a “playbook”, if you will, on how to combat any takeover efforts by the privates. This group, along with the PMAA staff, worked diligently over the past year and has created what we feel is a significant source of information on how to prevent privatization. The work of this group is available on the PMAA website in two places: 1. Under the Resources tab, click on PREVENTING PRIVATIZATION. There are separate categories for: b Ill r oss r eFlects on h Is y ear as Pmaa P resIdent • What is Act 12? • Understanding Act 12 • Know The Facts! • Legislation • Legal • PMAA Publication 2. Accessible via AuthoritiesConnect , the Privatization Playbook provides a step-by-step process on how to combat privatization depending on where any particular authority is in the process of a possible takeover situation. (See page 52.) Many of you have seen The Value of Authority Ownership of Public Water and Sewer Systems which was released within the past two years. It is a phenomenal resource, whether in hard copy or online. There is a wealth of information in this booklet. If you do not have it, I strongly advise you to get it. I have gotten copies for both members of my authority board and members of our Township Council. I would like to thank the members of this ‘all-star” committee who worked so hard on this effort. The work you did on this project was both significant and important! They are: Tony Bellitto, Mike Sullivan, David Busch, Dwight Hoare, Craig Bubb, Liesel Gross, Sharon Purnell, our moderator Barry Wolfe, and PMAA staff members Craig Fahnestock, Jennie Shade, Richard Fox and Jennifer Case. I am proud of some of our other achievements of this past year. For the first time in a few years, all 10 regions held meetings this year. I was able to attend at least one meeting in every region and was able to help get the word out about our efforts. I jokingly referred to this past year as “The PMAA Presidential World Tour” – which took me from the Poconos to Erie to Pittsburgh to suburban Philadelphia...and so many places in between. There were many miles... and many more smiles! Being able to work with the incredible PMAA staff over the past year has been a highlight – it is easy to take them for granted, but we are VERY fortunate to have them working with us and for us. They are a fantastic resource that we as PMAA members have available to us on a daily basis. Finally, I would like to thank my family for supporting me in this endeavor. There is a significant commitment of time and travel to this position, which I gladly gave. But knowing that they support me made it that much easier. Thank you all for your support. I have very much enjoyed the past year! municipalauthorities.org | 9