By Taylor Stronsky
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The City Union of Baltimore gathered Wednesday in front of city hall to stand against a plan to privatize the water billing system.
Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young last week announced that a private vendor, Itron Inc., would take over meter reading after constant problems with the Department of Public Works. The city has funded DPW for new expensive meters but work still is not getting done, he said.
Young also announced the layoff of 63 meter operations workers.
At a press conference Wednesday, City Council President Brandon Scott, who also is the Democratic nominee for mayor, asked the General Counsel to investigate whether the deal to privatize the water billing system is legal. He pointed to a charter amendment passed in 2018 that banned the sale of the water system.
“We cannot allow the hardworking women and men of the Department of Public Works bear the brunt of a water system that’s been broken my whole lifetime,” Scott said. “We cannot take it lightly when a decision to privatize operations results in the loss of over 60 jobs.”
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski favors the move as a way to avoid billing delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He said Itron Inc. will take over reading meters, after many customers complained when the city failed to so.
Itron Inc. is a third-party company based out of Liberty Lake, Washington that provides services on energy and water resource management. Officials said that outsourcing the water billing system should improve billing accuracy and timeliness. In addition, officials estimated $50 million would be saved over five years, and said water rates may be discounted.
“The city is inept to handle this,” said resident J.R. Robinson who has lived in Baltimore City 10 years. “If I don’t get a bill, I just go in and pay it because I know that I will still get charged.”
Officials plan to begin using Itron in late October. County residents would begin getting their bills again starting mid-November, officials said. The new bills will cover water consumption from residents’ last bill through meter readings this fall.
The City Union of Baltimore said it is baffled at the mayor’s decision to lay off more than five dozen of their employees. CUB members urged support from Scott, and City Council Labor Committee Chair Shannon Sneed.
Councilman Bill Henry also voiced disagreement with the privatization plan.
“I stand with our city workers outside of City Hall today questioning the outsourcing of our water billing operations,” Henry said.
Henry also released a statement saying he is disappointed with both the lack of consideration for the impacted workers and the lack of detailed information about the proposal.
Sneed has yet to comment and has not responded to the DPW.