THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 19, 1995 TAG: 9509180189
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Chesapeake City Council member Dalton S. Edge has been in office less than six months, but he appears already to have grasped a basic rule of politics: to get re-elected, promise the voters something big.
Edge was appointed to the council just last April 18 to replace Arthur L. Dwyer, who had resigned amid accusations of misconduct. Now Edge faces a special election for his seat in less than two months.
At Tuesday's regular council meeting, Edge proposed a rebate to residents who receive salty tap water.
That's a lot of votes - or rather people. About 71,000 Chesapeake residents, including everyone in Greenbrier and Great Bridge, get salty Northwest River water. Others receive a mixture of that water and unsalty reserves. About half of the city's 182,000 residents receive unsalty Norfolk or Portsmouth water.
In other words, Edge's proposal could give something to half the residents.
Edge denied that his proposal had anything to do with his re-election campaign. ``What am I supposed to do?'' he asked. ``Am I not supposed to voice good ideas because I think it's going to help me in an election?''
Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance supported Edge's proposal, saying, ``We're charging people for something they can't use, and they don't understand it.''
One point seems worth making, however. New federal regulations require that Chesapeake build an improved filtering system, projected to cost $72 million to $78 million - the lower figure if citizens approve a bond referendum Nov. 7 to pay for it, the higher figure if not.
On Aug. 23, the council raised water and sewer rates by $2.10 for the average household's bimonthly bill, effective Oct. 1, because the new water plant must be built. If the referendum is defeated, officials say, the rates will have to be increased again in January.
Given that Chesapeake, the fastest-growing Virginia city, already is strapped to meet the demands of rapid growth, this hardly seems the time to promise to give money back to residents.
Mayor William E. Ward was right when he told his colleagues, ``The intent sounds great and is commendable, but I have to look at the total picture and how a rebate could affect the fiscal integrity and bond rating of our Public Utilities Department.''
Besides, there's something screwy about raising water rates to solve the salty-water problem, then proposing rebates because the water is salty. by CNB