Published June 2007

What If It Were Voluntary?

By Ted J. Rulseh (page 8)

Maybe one way to get people to appreciate water and sewer infrastructure would be to force them, for a change, to imagine life without it.

There’s a scene in the movie, “Ghost-busters,” where Peter Venckman (the Bill Murray character) informs the hotel manager what it will cost for removal of the ghost caught in the smoking trap that dangles from a cord.

“I had no idea it would be that much,” says the manager. “I won’t pay it.” Venckman replies, “OK, then we’ll just put it right back where it came from ...” And before he can get the sentence out, the manager cries, “All right ... just get it out of here.”

What does “Ghostbusters” have to do with managing water and sewer piping? More than you might think.

Celebrating infrastructure

Two announcements crossed my desk recently. One came from the American Public Works Association, which designated May 20-26 as National Public Works Week. The goal is to raise public awareness of the professionals who provide public services and maintain public infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the American Water Works Association launched a consumer and media campaign to help utilities and public officials communicate the value of tap water service and the need to reinvest in water infrastructure. The campaign provides tools that explain how water utilities protect public health, provide fire protection, support the economy, and maintain the quality of life.

Campaigns like this happen all the time. Every two years, the American Society of Civil Engineers sponsors a Report Card on America’s Infrastructure, assigning grades to the condition of facilities like sewers, water systems, highways and bridges. It seems each year more associations, public and private sector, take steps toward convincing people that the infrastructure has value and needs care.

Right now we’re caught in this chronic case of tax-phobia, where anything that looks like a tax increase is viewed, in some circles, as sacrilege. That makes it hard to talk about things like spending money to rehabilitate aging underground pipes. So money is spent on things like TV commercials, magazine ads, and videos which, with any luck, some people actually see and heed.

A simpler way?

But maybe all these media and public information campaigns are more complicated than they need to be. Maybe all people really need to understand is that things like water, sewers and streets exist because some time back, people wanted them, and voluntarily made arrangements to install and pay for them.

In other words, we pay for municipal water because people didn’t want to draw buckets full from wells, and we pay public employees to plow streets because people couldn’t do that themselves, and we pay for sanitary sewer because in urban areas they are a whole lot cleaner and more convenient than outhouses or septic systems.

An extension of that argument is the Dr. Venckman approach to public education. When Mr. Jones on Oak Street calls to complain that his water bill is too high, the utility representative replies, “OK, we’ll come right over and shut that off for you.” The response would be predictable.

The next logical step would be for the city to send a letter, around tax time, announcing a new approach to paying for services.

“Your city government, in response to concern about taxes and usage fees, has decided to offer our residents more flexibility. As of Jan. 1, 2008, public services will be voluntary. A list of these services is provided below. Please check the boxes to indicate which services you accept and which you prefer to decline.”

The list would include sewer service, water service, snow plowing, street repairs, fire protection, police protection, and others, with the price the average homeowner pays for each one.

Delivering the message

Practical? As a serious matter, of course not. But wouldn’t such a simple technique help the necessity of services to penetrate residents’ heads? And by extension, the need to invest in them?

A common knee-jerk perception is that local taxes and sewer/water fees are something imposed on us, against our will, sometime in the distant past, and that we all now must carry this onerous burden.

The reality is that we have public services not only because we need them, but because we want them — because they are not only better and more convenient, but cheaper than any alternative we could devise.

That basic understanding is a key point of entry for any serious discussion about investing in infrastructure. Once we agree on and fully appreciate the necessity and the desirability of the services, we can talk intelligently about how and where and how much to invest in them.

Are any cities or utilities bold enough to try the Dr. Venckman approach to public education? Not likely — but, hey, a guy can dream.

Comments on this column or about any article in this publication may be directed to editor Ted J. Rulseh, 800/257-7222; editor@mswmag.com.