BexarMet reform dies via a ‘tag'

After suffering through years of poor service, water quality problems and mismanagement by their water supplier, customers of BexarMet have now been let down by legislative maneuvering in the Texas House of Representatives.

In the final hours of the legislative session, a San Antonio lawmaker ensured there would be no referendum on the troubled utility's future and ruined 18 months of hard work, negotiations and compromise on the BexarMet reform bill.

BexarMet customers, who were looking forward to the opportunity to vote, deserve to know what happened.

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, recruited a Fort Worth lawmaker to “tag” the bill, effectively killing it. We had worked diligently to address Martinez Fischer's concerns about the measure. We accepted many of his proposals in the final conference committee report, including his language regarding legislative findings, board duties, responsibilities, training, ethics and recall.

We insisted, however, that the compromise include an election. We wanted ratepayers, who had suffered most from BexarMet's broken promises, to be able to hold the utility accountable.

While eight of 10 conferees agreed with the compromise, Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio, also refused to sign. Martinez Fischer set out to block it, and he succeeded. BexarMet customers were silenced, and, we fear, will continue to suffer the consequences of mismanaged, unreliable service.

Martinez Fischer's motives are puzzling. He doesn't represent a single BexarMet customer and failed to attend a single BexarMet Oversight Committee hearing during the interim. During the session, he appeared to have little if any knowledge of the utility's history and the intricacies of fixing it.

Now, without the possibility of an election, we must be hopeful that a newly elected board can change the direction of BexarMet. We encourage the board to work together for the betterment of the district and its ratepayers and to seek the advice of a manager with a demonstrated high-level of water utility management expertise, who is ethical and has no financial interest in the district.

Meanwhile, we'll monitor BexarMet to ensure these changes are implemented. If it doesn't turn itself around, we have legislation ready to file.

By Sen. Carlos Uresti and Rep. Frank Corte - Express-News Guess Voices
Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, represents Texas' 19th Senatorial District. Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, represents the 122nd Legislative District.