10-11-10, Greg Wilkinson Acknowledges Correction by Glenn Steiger

Hal:

While I stand corrected that GWP head Glenn Steiger maintains a residence in California (which is why I prefaced my remarks by saying

"If I'm not mistaken") the important point remains that he does not reside in the City of Glendale and will not feel the pain of a water rate increase he so wholeheartedly recommends. Maybe this is why it is

seemingly so easy for him to ask the people of Glendale to pay more for their water when he doesn't have to swallow his own medicine.

Glendale residents have been conserving water at record levels and what Mr. Steiger doesn't address is the public's frustration with the

idea that rates must be increased once again. This, in light of the utility's large transfers of money into the City's coffers possibly in

violation of Proposition 218 in what some observers decry as little more than a shell game whereby water customers are expected to bear the increasingly heavy burden of a budget that still contains far too much bureaucratic fat and inefficiency.

As far as Mr. Steiger's characterization of my commentary critical of his performance as head of GWP as "potentially libelous", let me remind him that libel requires the publication of an intentional falsehood with prior knowledge of its falsity and reckless disregard for the truth -- elements absent in this case. The truth is always an absolute defense and the absolute truth remains that he is an out-of-towner running Glendale's public utility to the detriment of overburdened water customers who already pay too much for their water.

More belt tightening and management creativity is needed before the consumer is penalized again by rate increases and that is the point I was making. Thanks for your website Open Government (???) in Glendale California for being there for the public when we need to be heard on such critical issues as utility rate hikes.

Greg Wilkinson