By Pat Orr
Apple Valley Review
At 6:30 p.m. today in the Town Conference Center, a “special” meeting/workshop will be held to discuss the possible financing options available to the town should they be successful in their efforts to take over Apple Valley Ranchos Water Company.
Even the phraseology can get political — is it a purchase or a seizure?
No matter how you frame it, once past the central question about a governmental entity’s “right” to force a private company to sell its assets through the courts there remains two looming questions: How much will this cost and how will the town pay for it?
"How much this will cost" will be decided by a judge somewhere, that's almost certain. What tonight is about is how does the town prepare for a price-tag that could range between $50 million and $100 million? At what price point must the town drop the whole thing and move on? These are important facets of this issue. I hope that the pro-AVR crowd who have their own pre-meeting gathering and the anti-AVR crowd will not take use this opportunity to take up time with the “is it fair to take over the company” or “the valuation is too low” questions.
I have done my “ear to the ground” public survey to determine that yes, it’s true that conservatives and the business community are queasy about eminent domain versus private property rights and yes, most of us have deep reservations about government’s ability to run anything more efficiently than private industry. It appears that the outcry over outrageous utility rates — particularly water rates — that continue to rise no matter how much we conserve have won over public opinion and folks just want something done, despite reservations. This means that the “is it fair?” train has left the station. If it CAN happen, it WILL happen, and the Apple Valley ratepayer will likely be supportive.
All of the posturing and public relations efforts by both sides are really useless (and expensive for all of us no matter who wins) until a price is established and a solid way to pay for AVR is revealed. It seems to me that the only way Park Water and AVR can survive a takeover is to convince a judge that the real value of the assets in question far exceed the Town’s ability to raise the needed capital to make a “fair” offer. We already have a promise there will be no separate bond for this purpose, so tonight’s idea workshop is critical to understanding a path forward — if there is a way forward.
To throw one more element into the mix, consider that a court just declared that “tiered water rates” that punish larger users with high costs are unconstitutional in California when used by municipal water systems. Proposition 218 bans government from charging more for a service than the cost to deliver it. Translation; tiered rates are OK for AVR but would go away if the Town owned the water company.
“The reports of my death were exaggerated” – Mark Twain
Many folks have declared the California Republican Party (CRP) dead and buried. Retired state Senator Jim Brulte, who is the current chairman of the CRP, would disagree and he's coming to town to tell you why.
At 6 p.m. May 7, Brulte will headline a fundraising dinner at the Hilton Garden Inn. The good news is that 100 percent of the proceeds will go to support the Victor Valley Republican Club and the High Desert Republican Women Federated, two active local GOP organizations that help keep the High Desert firmly voting for conservative local candidates. Just last week, Brulte was featured in a Wall Street Journal article talking about the changing demographics that have overtaken California — and soon the rest of America — that the GOP has to deal with to remain a viable political force.
Does adapting to new voter realities mean throwing away your principles? Come and find out. Call 760-946-5300 for tickets and more information.
— Pat Orr is a local business owner, community volunteer and political junkie.