Lake View Passes Resolution Supporting Sewer Bill, Will Move Forward On GUSC Reforms

LAKE VIEW, AL — The Lake View City Council on Thursday approved a formal resolution supporting a local constitutional amendment that, if signed into law, would allow Tuscaloosa County residents to vote on placing private sewer owners in the city under the regulatory oversight of the Alabama Public Service Commission.

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As Patch reported earlier on Thursday, the bill passed the House chamber by a vote of 95-0, with two abstentions on Thursday. It will now head to the Alabama Senate for consideration.

The lack of opposition on the House side for the bill is important, Mayor Adrian Dudley pointed out once again, because if the amendment is signed into law, it will followed by a countywide referendum vote on the measure itself. Had it received any dissent in the House, but still made its way to the governor's desk, it would then have been put on a statewide ballot during the next General Election.

Dudley said the bill would be taken up by the Senate on Tuesday and he plans to provide further information to the community regarding the committee it is referred to when more details are available.

But when looking at the Council's decision Thursday evening, Dudley and other officials have been vocal in recent weeks about the need for a formal declaration of the city's support for the bill, which is sponsored by State Rep. Rich Wingo, a Republican from Tuscaloosa.

Specifically, the resolution cites the number of "unreasonable" rate increases that have been passed on to customers in such a short amount of time, which ultimately proves a hinderance for progress in the city.

The proposed legislation is the result of a longstanding and contentious battle with J. Mike White, the owner of the private Tannehill Sewer System, over drastic rate increases and the lack of transparency with respect to its business practices

Split between Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties, the city of 3,600 has employed the service of Tannehill Sewer System, in some form or another, as its lone waste treatment provider since Lake View was first incorporated in the late 1990s.

As the flat rate for sewer service has climbed in recent years for Lake View residents, private citizens have started to gain momentum in their push for answers and accountability.

White is also in the process of appealing a 2021 decision by a federal judge who ordered the business owner to pay $4.7 million in damages to three Lake View families who saw their runaway sewer bills climb to a cumulative total of $500,000.

The families have yet to receive the money as the legal battle moves through the appeal process, but pressure from the community has indeed been mounting, as seen in the letters to policymakers, public outcry and on-the-record interviews with angry residents.

Attempts by Tuscaloosa Patch on Thursday to reach White for comment on the bill's passage have been unsuccessful.

The primary hurdle for the private sewer amendment, though, will now be in the Alabama Senate, where State Sen. Gerald Allen is expected to rally support in opposition. The Tuscaloosa Republican and longtime legislator has been the main roadblock for the measure in its past incarnations and seems poised to do so again this legislative session, especially after his measure to expand the city limits of Lake View died in committee earlier this month.

In the push for oversight, another area of focus for those demanding change can be found in the Lake View Governmental Utility Services Corporation (GUSC).

The three-person, quasi-governmental oversight board is the governing body tasked with keeping the city's utilities in check. However, residents have been critical of the GUSC in recent years, arguing that it has little to no authority in combatting the practices of Tannehill Sewer.

The three seats on the GUSC board currently sit vacant, as Patch reported earlier this month, with city leaders openly acknowledging the need for change in the way it operates.

City leaders agreed to move forward on discussions for an application process for the GUSC, in addition to expanding the number of seats to allow for more input from the other communities impacted by the Tannehill Sewer System. As seen with the resolution for HB148, the initial reforms posed for the GUSC were met with unanimous approval from the mayor and council.

Tentatively, the undecided number of positions would also be term-limited and staggered, so as to have rotation on the board every couple of years.

"We're trying not to do this in a vacuum, but it requires communication," Dudley said of the reform process, before mentioning that he would want to sit down with candidates and council members to talk about them about the demands and expectations of the GUSC. "I'd like the people to understand what they are getting into."

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