Attendees bring toilets to demonstration
Cincinnati, Ohio – On Thursday, June 17, Communities United For Action (CUFA) and its allies announced the launch of the Fair Sewer Rates Coalition and delivered demands to the Hamilton County Commissioners calling for restructuring sewer rates.
The 40 Coalition supporters delivered toilets to the Todd B. Portune Center for County Government. CUFA member Wanda Ball said, “If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the picture we want to portray here today is that our homes and their values are going down the toilet. Our hard-earned money is going down the drain.”
Ball, who emceed the rally, continued, “Water is a basic human need, and because of the unfair sewer rates, it has been difficult for me, at times, to pay my water. The Customer Assistance Program that was implemented by the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) was designed to limit who can qualify, and that’s not acceptable. I shouldn’t be told I don’t qualify for the program because I’m not dirt poor.”
The Fair Sewer Rates Coalition is calling on the County Commissioners to:
- Reduce base rate charges immediately;
- Eliminate the bulk rate discounts for large users, which create a disincentive for water conservation;
- Fund Consent Decree with impervious surface charges and other stormwater-related fees;
- Implement financial incentives for stormwater abatement for all property owners; and
- Work to expand Customer Assistance programs for those in need.
Bob Park, Member of the Sierra Club, Miami Group, said, “After 6 years of complaining about the rate structure, when most users are subsidizing the big users, we are fed up. The sewer problem in Cincinnati requires a political solution coming from the top leadership in the city and county.”
Pastor Peterson Mingo of Christ Temple Full Gospel Baptist Church said, “We need the County to stand up for us, be our champion. They promised us rate changes. We need them to change the rates now.”
The endorsing organizations for the Fair Sewer Rates are:
Communities United For Action
Carthage Civic League
Edwood East Community Association
Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church
Christ Temple Full Gospel Baptist Church
Churches Active In Northside (CAIN)
Board of Directors, Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati
Woman's City Club
Citizens for Rights of the Ohio River Watershed (CROW)
Ohio River Guardians
Metro Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Democratic Socialists of America
Cincinnati Indivisible Rapid Response Team
League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area
Working In Neighborhoods
Sierra Club, Miami Group
Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund
Ohio Citizen Action
Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME)
New organizations can endorse the demands and join the coalition here.
See the news coverage here:
The Enquirer: 'Fair sewer rates.' New sewer customer advocacy group wants lower rates
WVXU: New Coalition Issues List Of 5 Demands For Immediate MSD Rate Reductions
Watch the press conference here:
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