Over more than a year and a half of releasing audit reports on the City of St. Louis, state Auditor Susan Montee encountered the most heated response over the cool, refreshing subject of water.
Or, rather, payments for the use of water.
Montee’s report noted that, according to the City Charter, City departments are required to pay the Water Division for use of public water. Then, in turn, the City bills the division for its share of administrative costs.
“For the year ended June 30, 2008, the division’s actual payments to the City for direct costs and administrative expenses totaled over $2.3 million. Similarly, the City should be paying the division for water used in City-owned facilities,” Montee noted.
However, though the Water Division is paying its share to the City, the City is not paying for the public use of water.
No records are being kept of what the City is not paying, Montee reported, for water used in its “approximately 300 structures, ranging from large office buildings to public restrooms.” Of the 35 buildings that do have metered water flow, meter readings for the year ended June 30, 2008 indicate approximately an $285,000 unpaid water bill.
In addition to water in those facilities, the City also uses water to fight fires, maintain right-of-way property and keep City parks green. The Water Division put the price of water usage by lakes, pools and fountains in Forest Park alone during the spring of 2008 at $6.7 million. The City paid nothing for it.
With the Water Division billing taxpayers, but not the City, that leaves taxpayers to pay the City’s share, though their increased payments for water is not presented to them as an extra tax burden.
“The division’s water rates are required by bond covenants to produce sufficient revenue to cover all operating costs and to provide for bond payments,” Montee noted.
“The division’s rate calculations spread these revenue requirements across all paying utility customers. As a result, the City’s paying utility customers are covering the cost of City water consumption.”
The audit report released by Montee on March 25 included an “Auditee’s Response” that is credited to the Water Division. However, this response does not voice the grievance of the division that isn’t being paid by other departments, but rather the outrage of city government being told to pay up.
Montee’s report specifically said residents are paying more for their water because the City isn’t paying its share. However, the “auditee’s response” twists around the findings to make it seem as if Montee is suggesting citizens should be paying more.
“Is the auditor now suggesting the City charge everyone who uses Forest Park a fee for the cost of water needed to keep the park beautiful?” the auditee poses in one irate rhetorical question.
And, in another: “Is the auditor suggesting we bill every property owner after we use water to put out a fire?”
The simple answer is no, the audit report says nothing of the sort.
“The above auditee response mischaracterizes our audit recommendation by suggesting user fees need to be implemented to pay for City water usage at City facilities. “In actuality we are recommending water use be paid out of each department’s respective budget, based on usage (or estimated usage),” Montee replied.
“The burden of paying for the City’s water usage would then be more appropriately shifted from water customers to the appropriate City department budget and be paid out of existing City tax revenues.”
The American asked Water Commissioner Curtis B. Skouby who prepared the “auditee’s response” – his division or the Mayor’s Office? Skouby said, “We worked together to come up with the answers.”
Skouby was read some of the more irate “auditee” responses and asked if they were the work of Jeff Rainford, the mayor’s hot-tempered chief of staff. Skouby said, “Before I go any further, let me call you back.”
Skouby has not yet called back.