[Durham INC] Water meters

[TheOcean1 at aol.com]

Just my opinion:
 
When the city announced it was going to save money by making our water  
meters readable from their trucks, I don't think we knew what we were in  for.
 
Here's Bull City Risings view 
_http://www.bullcityrising.com/2010/09/watch-your-step-that-water-meters-got
-your-number.html#more_ 
(http://www.bullcityrising.com/2010/09/watch-your-step-that-water-meters-got-your-number.html#more) 
 
Here's mine:
 
In my neighborhood, they just did Acadia Street, the block North of  
Markham, a lovely Duke Park stretch. And now it's not as lovely as it was. Just  
looking at those installed on Acadia makes it obvious there are problems.
 
One house was spared entirely because their concrete walkway went to the  
curb and the last section of it contained the meter box. Thankfully they had 
the  sense to leave that one alone.
 
Another neighbor had placed pavers where they get out of there car, level  
with the top of the old meter in the center. Doesn't look like a safe 
landing at  the moment, with the meter box jutting up in the middle. That one is 
pretty  fixable.
 
My box is still currently flush with my lawn, virtually unnoticeable even  
when walking over it, or mowing right over it. It is directly in the path I  
currently take from my car to the door. I can currently mow my entire  yard 
without a weed eater any more, I'll need to buy one now.
 
I don't want to stand in the way of progress, but are all  of these really 
progress? We're saving those meter readers a quick trip  from their trucks, 
but at what expense? We're paying $20 million to do this, and  how much will 
we save? How much will each of US save, will our rates go  down?
 
Let's also remember that savings is realized almost purely  in jobs. We pay 
companies incentives to bring jobs to Durham, even while we  can't control 
who they hire. The City can control who they hire to  read meters, wonder if 
they applied the reverse of whatever formula they  use to determine 
incentives offered to private companies who bring jobs TO  Durham.  
I suppose that begs the question what is a job worth? We shouldn't cast  
them away lightly.
 
I bet the Economic Development Dept would base the value on how high the  
salaries are. Actually, I would contend that the highest salaries  mostly 
benefit the individuals collecting them, more so than our community  as a 
whole. It's actually the lowest paying jobs that are of a very different  value 
to the community from a crime prevention perspective.
 
If you were a Durhamite when you were incarcerated, you'll probably be in  
Durhamite when you get out. That first two years will be critical they say, 
but  I can just imagine the first to weeks!  The ones that land on the 
street  who really want to become contributing citizens again, enter a tough job 
market  with the top of their resume in bold print "Fresh out of Prison". If 
they can't  get a job, what do you think they do?
 
This is how they become virtually institutionalized, and why they sometimes 
 hope they will get caught when they break into our homes, because they'll 
go  back to prison. Or they get away with all our valuables, either way, 
they can't  loose.
 
Didn't mean to divert the attention to this issue of jobs for ex-convicts,  
but the savings we'll all reap is coming from less of those jobs suitable 
to  that purpose. I'd rather see the water dept partner with a Work First 
program  and hire ex-prisoners who really want to turn themselves around.
 
That might be the jobs we're shedding, but regardless, the main questions  
are how much are we actually saving per resident, and how much are we 
spending  to retrofit each of these into trip hazard eye sores? Are we promised 
lower  water rates in the future? Where's the benefit to the neighborhoods or 
the  individual citizens?
 
I hope InterNeighborhood Council weighs in and suggests a pause in the  
delivery of these new meters, or at least pause between when the current  
contract for 20,000 of them is complete, and before we start the other 60,000. I  
personally think a very small percentage of them are a mistake, but  
realize we can't undo what has already been done. 
 
I'd motion that we ask the City to pause further installation of these new  
meters and do a quick evaluation of the impact on homeowners individually. 
Also  to publish some of the number answers, how much does it save, etc. So 
the  neighborhoods can weigh in before all of them are effected.
 
If that were done, I think we'll find that in addition to a few (maybe 1 or 
 2%) that are in the middle of walkways or side walks, and won't be raised, 
there  might be another 1 or 2% percent that shouldn't be raised for 
various reasons. I  could be wrong, but a short re-evaluation in between the two 
contracts wouldn't  hurt, nor delay the project very much. It'll be too late 
for that if they sign  the next contract, for those last 3/4 of the meters 
in Durham.
 
Am I alone in thinking it might be wise to pause, before we continue?
 
Bill  Anderson
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