Are Taxpayers Represented on the TLCSA Board?
THE SEWER AUTHORITY IS UNELECTED, AND 75% OF ITS MEMBERS WILL NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THE PROJECT.
Although sewer authorities are authorized by statute under Michigan law, their members are appointed, not elected. In the TLCSA’s case, its current members also serve on their respective township and village boards, and have been appointed by those boards to serve on the TLCSA. However, the composition of future boards is unknown, and could include members who face no electoral consequences.
Unelected sewer authorities have drawn sharp criticism. Commenting on similar water and sewer authorities, one public policy expert said, “The point of the authority, in simplest terms, is to avoid record votes on matters of water and sewage rates and put those decisions outside of city council or county commissioner purview and instead have appointed authority boards make those decisions without much sunlight.”[i]
In the TLCSA’s case, three of the four current TLCSA board members live outside the proposed sewer district and would not have to pay a dime toward the project. If the project is completed, there are no guarantees that any board members will live in the district and be subject to the rates they impose.
[i] https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/an-in-depth-look-at-authorities-in-pennsylvania-you-have-basically-the-largest-unaccountable-form/article_269ef466-1c94-11e7-97cc-fb91dc9c63bc.html