To stave off what they say is an unseemly effort by Sandy to get its unwelcome foot in the door, White City homeowners have enlisted the sympathy of the Public Service Commission and the influence of state lawmakers.
Their aim is to thwart a $6 million deal that would turn over their town's family-owned water utility to Sandy and turn the people of White City - over their staunch objections - into water customers at the mercy of Sandy rate-setters.The PSC, which heard public testimony on the sale Monday, hasn't decided whether to allow it to go through as proposed but previously indicated it would probably approve the sale only if the PSC, not Sandy, gets to control White City's water rates.
Representing the sellers, "It's a deal-killer," former Gov. Calvin L. Rampton told the commission in his role as the water company's lawyer.
Central to the dispute is the question of whom White City residents could hold accountable if they didn't like water service provided by Sandy and couldn't go to the PSC. Rampton said the judicial system serves the purpose well enough.
Residents of the community of about 6,500 have been surrounded for some time by Sandy, a sprawling town of 75,000 with a reputation for lassoing adjacent neighborhoods into its ever-growing boundaries.
"We'll be paying for the water to every new subdivision they put in," said Ray Anderton, a 30-year resident of White City.
"It'll go toward the subsidization of other developments," said Elaine Wade, who has lived in the area for 26 years.