By james art LAREDO, Texas (KGNS) – Laredo residents took to the podium at a special City Council meeting to voice their frustrations with the management of water issues plaguing the city.
The three-hour long meeting ended with one accepted question; a consulting contract with Strategic Government Resources was approved for interim utility director Walter Pishkur.
The consultant will look at the operations in the utility department.
This will be a necessary effort, as officials are not yet sure where the contaminants are coming from.
The investigation found 200 illegal connections believed to be responsible for contaminating the water supply.
However, Mayor Dr Victor Trevino is now looking to punish those illegally eavesdropping, as he believes many may have been unaware.
“It is very difficult because many people buy such houses. Many people rent houses. Sometimes these are multi-tenant buildings, so it’s very difficult to blame someone, but if there’s a clear violation, it can be looked at in a different light,” Trevino said.
Third Ward Council Member Melissa Sigaroa said that while it’s unclear how some of these links were established, they point to the need for greater oversight.
Cigaroa mentioned, “We have to have procedures. That means better inspections, holding contractors accountable, and having some accurate way to ensure our water system is protected.
The city also began discussions about a discount on utility bills.
This would create an estimated $820,000 goodwill rebate program, partially funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.
The initial proposal would see 5% of the base water and sewer rate for residential, 4% for commercial and 3% for industrial.
But the council is looking to increase that amount, with Fourth Ward Councilman Alberto Torres even proposing a 33 percent discount for consumers.
Torres stated, “We run a water business when it comes to utilities and our job is to sell clean water to the consumer. If the water is not 100% satisfactory then it is our duty as a business operator to reimburse the ratepaying customer for the water they did not receive of the highest quality.
The council also discussed the possibility of a business support fund for locations affected by the boil water notice.
Both points are yet to be approved and will be discussed at the next meeting of the Municipal Council.
Despite the cancellation of the boil water advisory, the emergency declaration issued by Laredo’s mayor and Gov. Greg Abbott will remain in effect.
Below is the original article:
Community members expressed their disappointment in the notice to council members at a special meeting.
The meeting was called on Monday, October 21, and showed many upset with how the city handled the situation from finding the source of the E.coli to asking the council to waive water charges.
The Laredo Chamber of Commerce said it sent a survey to businesses about how the notice affected them.
The chamber said that based on their findings, they believe businesses lost millions of dollars during the 11-day notice period.
They also discussed contracting with SGR to hire an interim utility executive for six months.
Coming up on KGNS Evening Edition, we’ll hear more from the council about plans to help residents and businesses affected by the notice.
This will be followed by another update during our Late Edition at 10pm
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