ONLY ON 3: Why utility authority is raising water prices & increasing CEO’s salary

If you live in New Hanover County, your water rates are going up and the head water and sewer guy’s salary is going up as well.

Some board members on the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board admit they have a public perception and PR problem on their hands.

They recently voted to raise rates again, this time 14% starting in May. They also agreed to increase their CEO’s salary some $40,000 last year, which is causing grumbling in the community.

Just like all of us, the CFPUA has bills to pay. “We’re stretching this organization as hard as we can to save every dollar we can,” Burrows Smith, CFPUA Treasurer, told us.

And the bill on the most recent bond to maintain and improve the county’s water and sewer system is coming due. “We delayed a scheduled rate increase that’s in the bond documents last summer because we knew how hard times were for people. We stretched that as far as we could until January. We wouldn’t be having this raise if we didn’t have to but we are just getting over the top of these coverages. If we don’t make these coverages, then this authority is in default,” said Smith.

Right now, the CFPUA is working on nine major projects – most it inherited from the city and county when they ran the system separately – at a cost of almost $171 million. One of those is the Nano Water Plant and Well Field on the northern end of the county.

Carey Disney Ricks, CFPUA’s Public Information Officer, showed us the site. “This is the perfect example of either projects that were physically started before CFPUA or conceptually started before CFPUA,” she said. “We’ve got the nano-filtration facility to my right was physically started by New Hanover County and inherited by CFPUA. And to the left is the Environment Services Building that was a concept that was researched and included in the CIP for the City of Wilmington that we inherited and our completing in construction. So these are just two key projects that city and and county projects either physically started or conceptually started and inherited by the CFPUA.”

The authority says it HAS to pay these bills on time, or its bond rating will go down, or the lenders will make them raise rates anyway. And i think we can all agree, we don’t mind paying a little more as long as we have clean water to drink and shower with, and no raw sewage in our back yards. But the feedback we’re getting is – if we as customers have to feel the pain – shouldn’t CEO Matt Jordan feel some too?

Jordan makes $162,000 a year – up from $140,000 when he took over two years ago. The board says the increase was contractual, based on his hitting certain goals and objectives. They say he’s worked tirelessly to improve the CFPUA and deserves it.

But, a tough question we posed to the board president, did anyone hold a gun to Jordan’s head and **make** him sign the back of that check? CFPUA Board President Gene Renzaglia says of course not. “Contractually, we owe him something in there,” he told us. “Your question ‘could he turn it down,’ sure he can. Anybody can turn down a raise. Anybody can turn down any type of pay or any type of benefit or offer to them. But that would be his call.”