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Residents urge Lindsay City Council to halt water sale process; item 14.3 pulled from tonight's agenda
Summary
Public commenters packed the June 10 meeting to oppose agenda item 14.3—a proposed RFQ/process to privatize the water and sewer system—urging independent analysis, better notice to nonresident ratepayers and alternatives such as a half-cent sales tax; council removed 14.3 from tonight’s discussion.
Lindsay residents filled the public comment period on June 10 to press the council to stop a process tied to agenda item 14.3 that they said could lead to privatizing the city’s water and sewer systems. The council had pulled 14.3 from the meeting and confirmed it would not be discussed that night.
"Please listen to the people, protect our non-resident neighbors, and vote no on item 14.3," resident Jennifer Keaton said during the public comment period. Keaton told the council she opposed the RFQ selection and argued the proposal would leave large numbers of non-resident customers—who pay into the system but cannot vote—without a voice in any sale.
Other speakers pressed the council for independent analysis of long-term rate impacts and for fuller community outreach. "Selling our public systems to a private corporation shouldn't be used as an easy exit strategy to clean up decades of internal fiscal mismanagement," Keaton said, calling for transparency and protections for residents.
James Cleel suggested an alternative revenue approach: a half-cent local sales tax that, he estimated, could raise about $800,000 a year and eventually match the one-time proceeds the city might receive from a sale. "That's sustainable income," Cleel told the council.
Multiple commenters cited national studies and local town-hall feedback to argue that small and midsize communities that privatized utilities later faced faster rate increases and loss of local control. Speakers urged the council to explore grants, smart-meter investments and other revenue strategies before pursuing a sale or authorizing negotiations.
Mayor Val told the public that the council had pulled 14.3 from the agenda for the evening; staff later said the item could return at a future meeting and that the city would notify the public if and when it is rescheduled. Several commenters asked the council to commit to earlier, multilingual notice if the matter comes back to the council.
The council took no formal action on 14.3 at the June 10 meeting.
