MAYOR'S CORNER
Water and Sewer Symposium
December 15, 2003

On December 2-4, 2003, our Borough partnered with Maniilaq Association and the State Department of Community and Economic Development to sponsor the first-ever Northwest Arctic Water & Sewer Symposium. The concept of the gathering, which originated from Public Services Director Tom Bolen, was to bring together all the people involved in the delivery of these vital services to analyze problems and develop solutions.

Water and sewer service operation and maintenance is the most important responsibility of most city governments in our borough. Any loss of service can result in a health risk for village residents and closure of public facilities such as schools and clinics. Declining revenue to cities from the state, which will really be felt next year with the loss of Revenue Sharing, is going to make that job especially challenging.

The Symposium began with focused discussion by three different groups of participants, each with a common perspective. The groups included the system operators, city administrators, and local city council members. Collectively, these groups identified a wide range of concerns regarding budgets, water and sewer rates, bill collection, purchasing methods, administrative practices and city revenues. Over the course of the conference, these problems were prioritized and then addressed with proposed solutions.

Several key points emerged from this gathering. First, the economic health of our communities now depends upon increasing employment in every village. More jobs equate to more city revenue from sales tax and payment for services. Unlike our hearty Inupiat people, governments cannot survive by subsistence. If we want to have safe water & sewer, solid waste management, law enforcement, recreational facilities, and other government services, we must pay for them through taxes and user fees.

A second point was that local governments must get better at what they do: providing quality service at the lowest possible cost. Better training for operators, administrators and council members is needed, and should produce greater efficiency. A periodic "sharing of best practices" between communities could also be beneficial.

Everyone endorsed a need for more regional support. Suggestions included having a regional parts inventory and a program to make bulk purchases of commonly used chemicals and supplies. Participants also favored having an expanded Remote Maintenance Worker (RMW) program that could serve as a regional water and sewer "SWAT team."

Finally, there was a sense that we need to increase local involvement in water and sewer design and construction rather than allowing state and federal agencies to make those decisions on their own. Economy of operation and maintenance have to be emphasized.

I would like to thank our partners, Maniilaq Association and DCED, for their cooperation and assistance with the Symposium. Special thanks go to Hiram Walker of Maniilaq and Margaret Hansen and Scott Ruby of DCED. Mr. Ruby, who is Margaret's Anchorage-based supervisor, brought a great deal of information and insight that we would not have had otherwise. I would like to congratulate Mike Simon of Ambler, who was named as the 2003 Water Plant Operator of the Year.

A final congratulations is in order this week. Lucy Nelson Snyder of Kotzebue was awarded her degree in Business Management by Alaska Pacific University last Saturday. That's a wonderful accomplishment and makes us all very proud.