Suburban Chicago News - July 30, 2010

There's going to be a change of faces at the DuPage Water Commission come January.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 580, designed to mop up the Water Commission and its troubles, Thursday afternoon in his Chicago office. Under the new law, a 1/4 percent county-wide sales tax that subsidizes the commission's operations would be eliminated by 2016, and board members would be forced to resign by the start of next year.

The bill's signing came as no surprise to Commissioner and Naperville City Councilman Richard Furstenau, who said the commission will fulfill the requirements of the n ew law.

"Eventually, the sales tax will go away," Furstenau said, echoing previous statements made at commission meetings. "Hopefully, we'll have paid off the bonds and have cash on hand for any emergencies that come our way."

Furstenau also said the elimination of the sales tax means a rise in the price residents will pay for water. The commission charges $2.08 per 1,000 gallons of water, less than what Chicago charges for 1,000 gallons of Lake Michigan water. To keep the tap flowing, the commission will have to begin charging closer to $3 per 1,000 gallons by 2016 in order to pay for water, line maintenance and construction, and administration.

"Water's going to pay for water," said Furstenau.

That's the idea Furstenau and a few other members of the commission have been after since the commission's downfall early this year.

"If the sales tax goes away, a lot of the problems go away," said former commissioner Liz Chaplin of Downers Grove, who resigned last month in anticipation of the new law.

Those problems have included accounting errors, massive rebates and other steps that led to the depletion of a $70 million surplus at the end of 2009. An audit conducted by law firm Jenner and Block, hired by the commission, said the depletion of funds was the result of poor bookkeeping by staff members, including the general manager and treasurer, who both resigned in March, and because of commissioners charging too little for water and issuing a rebate that gave millions of dollars back to customer municipalities.

State Sen. Dan Cronin (R-Lombard) introduced SB 580 earlier this year as a reaction to the fiasco. The original bill would have disbanded the Water Commission entirely and put water delivery under the purview of the county.

The amended bill is less drastic. In addition to the elimination of the sales tax and the forced resignations of the commissioners, the law also mandates the approval of the DuPage County Board in hiring for top staff positions, like the now-vacant general manager position. It also requires a yearly independent audit that must be submitted to the county's auditor each year.

"Illinois taxpayers have seen recently what can happen at independent agencies that lack a clear chain of accountability while responsible for public funds," Cronin said. "This law will hopefully prevent future problems at the DuPage Water Commission and ensure transparency and frugality on behalf of county taxpayers."

John Schmitt, president and CEO of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, said he was "very pleased" with the passage of the law.

"The law puts in motion the reduction of an unnecessary tax," he said. "Within 10 years of the repeal, we conservatively estimate that taxpayers will save at least $375 million of their money."

Perhaps, but Furstenau said he's skeptical that taxpayers will see much of that sales tax back in their pockets. He worried that municipalities in the county would snatch up the extra tax revenue for themselves, and warned that further problems could still be down the line for the Water Commission.

"Kendall, Kane and Will counties will need a whole lot more Lake Michigan water because aquifers are drying up," he said, which will create a money pinch as the commission looks to expand its water delivery system again in the distant future. "We'll be back at the well, looking for money to build out our system further."