It seems to me that an unyielding virus of fiscal ineptness has developed in the Great Land of Westmoreland (GLOW).
It started when two of the three county commissioners — the regular one and the bald one — went scorched earth on taxpayers a year or so ago after they got out of their beds one morning and realized their spending had put us on the brink of going broke. What ensued was possibly the largest county real estate tax hike in history.
Now the fever of fiscal folly has spread from the golden-domed headquarters of GLOW and resurfaced in the form of fees levied by the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. MAWC is an “authority” run by a subset of individuals appointed by the commissioners of GLOW to run an aqua dynasty. The appointees are essentially responsible for gathering up clean water and putting it into the pipes that service the taxpaying and ratepaying great unwashed.
Over time the MAWC big thinkers jumped across Westmoreland’s borders to acquire foundering water operations in Allegheny, Armstrong, Fayette and Indiana counties. Has this thirst to expand contributed to today’s financial situation?
Today MAWC is apparently a fiscal dumpster fire. Last year it raised fees 9%. The other day the leadership gave its rate-o-meter another spin and came up with an additional 9.5% increase.
This reason for this gouging is, it was explained, is that stuff costs more.
George Beidler
Hempfield