Harford County Executive David Craig has dropped a political bombshell.
Speaking to the Harford County Chamber of Commerce at its annual dinner last Thursday evening, Craig proposed the creation of a countywide water authority, essentially merging the three municipal water systems with those of the county's. The combined system most likely would be run by a quasi-public, autonomous authority structure, similar to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which owns and operates the public water systems serving Prince George's and Montgomery counties and also provides western Howard County's water supply. According to its web site, WSSC has more than 1.8 million customers. It came into being on May 1, 1918.
Craig said it's the right time to make such a proposal, noting the county already is the back-up supplier for the three municipalities. The Town of Bel Air's water supply is tenuous — with the county frequently having to supply the town's privately-owned system. The City of Aberdeen needs to expand its supply. The City of Havre de Grace needs upgrades to its treatment plant. The county is going to spend tens of millions of dollars to expand and upgrade its treatment plant. Growth is stymied around Aberdeen, as is growth west of Havre de Grace. If the county is to be able to meet BRAC-related housing and commercial development demands, those are the places — along with the rest of the Route 40 corridor — where you would want to first accommodate it, because the necessary infrastructure, albeit in need of may upgrades, already exists.
As practical as Craig's suggestion seems, it's by no means a home run or slam dunk or whatever sports or other analogy you prefer.
While it could certainly move considerable financial burdens from the balance sheets of Havre de Grace and Aberdeen, the two cities would be asked to relinquish considerable political autonomy in exchange. As Craig noted in his address to the chamber, issues such as future annexations by the municipalities, would likely be determined by water allocations doled out by the water authority, whose board of directors would not be elected, but appointed, and by whom? The county executive and county council? The municipal governments and the county?
Because the county does not supply water in what amounts to a gulf between Aberdeen and Havre de Grace and to the north and west of the two cities, both have been able to drive their own growth in recent years through annexations of areas they could more easily serve. Because of its water supply issues, however, Aberdeen's manifest destiny is on hold. Havre de Grace seemingly has enough water, but it's growth is somewhat moderated by capacity limits on its sewage treatment plant, which the city is in the process of upgrading and expanding, to the tune of many million dollars in city and state funds.
Bel Air's case is a little different than the other two. The town doesn't own its water system and for 40 years it has depended on the county for its sewage treatment. The town can't extend its borders, because the county already provides water and sewer service to all of Bel Air's surrounding communities. You can bet, however, that Maryland American Water, which owns Bel Air's water system and dozens more around the country, isn't going to just pack up and leave without a fat check.
Beyond the nuts and bolts of creating such an authority, there looms a much deeper question to ponder. Is this the beginning of the end for autonomous municipal governments in Harford County? Is it the first step to David Craig fulfilling his true ambition to become "Mayor of Harford County," as some of my newsroom colleagues like to joke about?
About a week before he spoke to the chamber of commerce, Craig said he wasn't going to propose a joint takeover of the municipal sewer systems, not yet at least. He also denied the water authority would one day lead to a call for a countywide police force, although he's not been bashful about discussing such aspirations in the past.
It's getting very expensive to live inside a municipality. The advantages: local utilities, local police, local trash pickup, local government halls and governing bodies, may well be worth paying for, but from a real politick standpoint, are these local municipal governments an anachronism?
Because of the money issues involved, Craig may well have launched a bloodless coup. But if history is any guide, a civil war looms.
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