Stop I.T.
(Stop Invisible Taxes)

A MEGA-MSD?

April 2010 - WHEW! That was too close!

The Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) almost suceeded in  getting a MEGA-sized version of themselves created during the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly. HB 221 would have allowed a MEGA-MSD to be established covering not only JEFFERSON Co., but also BULLITT, HARDIN, MEADE, OLDHAM, SPENCER, and NELSON counties (They also wanted SHELBY Co. but the powers-that-be in SHELBY Co. did not want anything to do this this monstrosity! - A very WISE decision by SHELBY Co.!)

But STOP I.T., along with the Floyds Fork Environmental Association (FFEA), beat them back ! We defeated some powerful Special Interests in Frankfort!

It took multiple trips to Frankfort, over 1200 emails, lots and lots of talking with legislators from ALL over the state to kill this horrible and totally unnecessary bill. We forged some powerful alliances along the way. Thank you all!

LOOK at the information below for some of the details. This "crap" (sorry for the pun) was on a fast-track and would have been quietly passed into law had STOP I.T. and FFEA not been proactive.

Specific legislators who wanted to impose MORE INVISIBLE TAXES upon the citizens of 7 counties in the form of UNREGULATED FEES that would have been charged by that MEGA-MSD are all up for re-election in 2010.
They are:
Rep. Larry CLARK, D-Jefferson Co. - Ky. House district 46 (Okolona)
Rep. Linda BELCHER, D-Bullitt Co. -  Ky. House district 49 (Shepherdsville)
Rep. Tom RINER, D-Jefferson Co. - Ky. House district 41 (Downtown, Crescent Hill)
Rep. Steve RIGGS, D-Jefferson Co. - Ky. House district 31 (Hikes Point)


Should these legislators who wanted to sneak one past ALL of us be re-elected?
You KNOW that answer!

But because this "crappy" HB 221 came so close to passing, MSD and their powerful alliance will be back in the 2011 Kentucky Legislature with something similar. We've gots lots of work ahead to STOP I.T. again!

Your support would be greatly appreciated. Please consider helping us with your very own personal grant.
Visit our Contact-Donation page for details on how to help us help beat INVISIBLE TAXES and EXCESSIVE FEES! Thanks!



   HB 221 - We can do all these things NOW -this bill not needed -
by Stop I.T. (Stop Invisible Taxes)
Excerpt:
Testimony given on Wed. Feb. 17, 2010 by MSD's Executive Director to Louisville Metro Council committee just 3 hours after appearing before a Kentucky House committee. BUT the Kentucky House Committee did not hear this same testimony! WHY not?

In this excerpt the Exec Dir states that everything HB 221 would permit, MSD can already do now BUT now MSD has to get the approvals of all those pesky local governments before MSD can impose unregulated fees and charges.

Proof from the architect of HB 221 that it is not only unneeded and unnecessary, but also is merely a ploy to get Louisville's MSD the power to impose fees on 6 adjacent counties (HARDIN, SPENCER, NELSON, BULLITT, MEADE, OLDHAM) in order to pay for their already staggering debt service of over $2.7 Billion (this is just one agency of one local government!)

Another example of government out of control.

Keywords:
HB 221; HB221; Kentucky; Debt; Commission; regional; wastewater; unregulated --- Downloads: 51
   HB 221 - It's all about Louisville taking control of 6 other counties sewer systems (and their revenues!) - Stop I.T. (Stop Invisible Taxes)

WOW! A real "smoking gun" of an interview!

Louisville mayoral candidate and East End developer Chris Thieneman on March 17, 2010, OPENLY ADMITS that HB 221 is all about Louisville's MSD (Metropolitan Sewer District) taking over sewer operations in a 7 county region (BULLITT, OLDHAM, HARDIN, MEADE, SPENCER, NELSON, JEFFERSON (and he mentions SHELBY even though this bill was amended to exclude Shelby Co. Shelby County got smart and got OUT of this bill!)).

His exact words are:
"It's a bill where MSD is going to try to regionalize and combine ALL THE SEWER DISTRICTS outside of Louisville , Shelby Co., Bullitt Co., ... ALL THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES, and MAKE MSD IN CONTROL OF ALL THAT. And that's something the city (Louisville) desperately needs...."

He further admits that Louisville (and Jeffersontown) want this HB 221 so that they may expand "sewer capacity" for further development of Louisville and Jeffersontown. In fact, he specifically mentions that Louisville's EAST END is the winner if this bill passes because it will provide even MORE opportunties for his developer friends.

But this Louisville mayoral candidate is totally SILENT on OVERSIGHT and ACCOUNTABILITY. This bill has ZERO OVERSIGHT and near ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY.

Telephone utility companies have PSC oversight and accountability.
Electric utility companies have PSC oversight and accountability.
Water utility companies have PSC oversight and accountability.
Metropolitan Sewer Districts (MSD) have ZERO PSC oversight and accountability. This needs to change immediately!

But here's a relevant fact that is not mentioned by any supporter of HB 221:

Louisville's MSD has a $2.7 BILLION debt service problem that it accrued all by itself! It NEEDS MORE MONEY in the worst way possible. It can solve some of its future money woes through HB 221 by shifting FUTURE DEBT onto the backs of the rate-paying citizens of BULLITT, OLDHAM, HARDIN, MEADE, SPENCER, NELSON, and possibly SHELBY counties. (Oh yeah ... the Ky House amended HB 221 to ALLOW the shifting of FUTURE DEBT to ALL members of any wastewater commission created under this bill.)

Everything this bill proposes to "solve" CAN BE DONE NOW under existing KRS.
Everything EXCEPT imposing UNREGULATED FEES on the citizens of the BULLITT, OLDHAM, HARDIN, MEADE, SPENCER, NELSON, and possibly SHELBY counties! HB 221 will ALLOW these fees to be imposed upon the citizens of those counties!

Keywords: HB 221; HB221; Kentucky; Debt; Commission; regional; wastewater; unregulated --- Downloads: 5
 

 HB 221 - Louisville Metro Councilman makes Factually INACCURATE statements in support of Resolution R-22-01-10 -
Stop I.T. (Stop Invisible Taxes)

And we wonder why government is in the mess that it is ...

Councilman Stuart Benson (R-20) gave his testimony to a Metro Council committee on Feb. 17, 2010 about resolution R-22-01-10 that seeks to support HB 221.

His statement contained (shall we say) Factually INACCURATE items.

First, here's the part of his statement that has these errors:

"... One of my problems in my district is the industrial park, and right now we don't have a place to send waste, and so, that hinders the chance to have jobs. ..." - Councilman Stuart Benson, Feb. 17, 2010

So many errors in such a short statement.

FIRST, the "industrial park" that he refers to is the LARGEST industrial park in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

SECOND, Benson's statement " ... right now we don't have a place to send waste ..." is 100% WRONG. This industrial park to which he refers, Bluegrass Industrial Park, could have never been built without a place to send waste (which, as it turns out, is the Jeffersontown waste treatment plant). It sits on over 1800 acres and has about 850 businesses.

THIRD, Benson laments that the lack of a place to send waste "... hinders the chance to have jobs...." - Folks, the
Bluegrass Industrial Park is the largest industrial park in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and is teeming with about 38,000 jobs. It is a financial goldmine for the companies that are located there and for the City of Jeffersontown. This one industrial park generates so much in various taxes that the entire city of Jeffersontown lives large. Their situation is akin to Alaskans benefitting from their oil and natural gas industry revenues.

Councilman Benson, while a nice guy, has been seriously misinformed by MSD on this issue. Has Councilman Benson, using the words of the late Tennessee Ernie Ford,
"sold his soul to the company store."?

Keywords:
HB 221; HB221; Kentucky; Debt; Commission; regional; wastewater; unregulated; Metro Council --- Downloads: 8

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