THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 19, 1995 TAG: 9510190360
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Despite pressure from the vice mayor and its newest member, the Chesapeake City Council early Wednesday decided against a water rebate for nearly half the city's population.
The rebate would have meant a savings of about $1 a month to each of the nearly 90,000 residents who have received tap water with high sodium and chloride levels since the problem began in June.
The 5-4 rejection crossed party lines.
Those who opposed the rebates said they had fielded plenty of complaints about the briny water but had heard no citizens calling for refunds.
Mayor William E. Ward and Councilmen W. Joe Newman and Peter P. Duda Jr. said citizens were more interested in long-term solutions that would correct the salt problem.
Opponents also echoed repeated warnings from city staffers that the rebates could have serious financial consequences and leave the city vulnerable to liability suits from disgruntled water users.
The vote negated guarantees made by Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance last month that residents would get a credit on their bills as a rebate for the salty water.
It also came in the emotional aftermath of the ouster of City Manager James W. Rein.
Nance, who called for the unexpected vote to end Rein's contract, had cited the manager's refusal to support the water rebate as the final reason to fire Rein.
Ward, still stinging from the Rein decision, pressed council members to explain their support of a water rebate in the face of advice by financial advisers and consultants that it could jeopardize future water and sewer projects, and could even hurt the city's bond rating.
Councilman John M. de Triquet, a strong advocate of fiscal restraint, who earlier this year had pledged to ``scrutinize heavily each and every expenditure this council makes,'' voted to grant the rebates.
He said he didn't believe the refunds would damage the city's financial standing. He also dismissed warnings by City Attorney Ronald S. Hallman that the rebate might lead to liability suits.
Ward and council members John E. Allen, John W. Butt, Duda and Newman voted down the rebate. Nance, de Triquet, Dalton S. Edge and Alan P. Krasnoff voted for it.
KEYWORDS: WATER REBATES CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL by CNB