To the Honorable Members of the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives who represent ratepayers in the Chester Water Authority service area
RE: Chester Water Authority (“CWA”) Update No. 11
August 17, 2021
TITLE: In 2020, DCED and the Act 47 Consultants strong armed Mayor Kirkland into not accepting the CWA settlement offer.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ordered the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (“DCED”) to give the Chester Water Authority (“CWA”) unredacted versions of documents that CWA sought in Right to Know Law requests. The truth is slowly emerging.
This is the second in a series. Look at the attached emails and letters we revealed to Mayor Kirkland in CWA’s August 10, 2021 letter to him. The attachments reveal the following:
· In 2020 the state-appointed Act 47 recovery consultant did everything possible to interfere with the Mayor’s work, limit the City’s options for exiting financial distress, and derail a settlement that would have provided a significant cash infusion to the City.
· The DCED executive director explicitly told her subordinates to keep the Mayor out of the loop regarding major developments in the City. And then the DCED and its consultants gave the City directives that were illegal under state tax law.
· The emails and letters show that DCED and its consultants worked against the Mayor and ignored major increased water rate concerns for City residents. DCED failed the City for decades. When the situation reached a breaking point under the pandemic, the DCED Act 47 group tried to cover their own ineffectiveness by blaming the pandemic and forcing your acquiescence with threats of bankruptcy, receivership, and disincorporation.
Want to learn more — see for yourself in CWA’s letter to the Mayor and the attachments to this Update.
Any questions or comments should be directed to Francis J. Catania, Solicitor, Chester Water Authority. It is best to communicate with CWA via email, info@chesterwater.com
