Statement by Mayor Tom Arceneaux Regarding Status of Consent Decree Negotiations
Recently a candidate for Mayor of Shreveport implied during a public forum and in social media posts that Mayor Tom Arceneaux has reached an agreement with the United States Department of Justice on modifications to Shreveport’s May 2014 Sewer Consent Decree but is waiting to announce the agreement until after the mayoral election. Because of the significance of the statements, Mayor Arceneaux released the following statement:
“Negotiating a modification of a federal consent decree is a major undertaking. When I took office, the city was bound by a sewer consent decree that was not realistic. I came in determined to fix it and have been working on it ever since. Neither the City nor I have reached any agreement, tentative or otherwise, with the Justice Department on extensions or modifications of the Sewer Consent Decree. Negotiations are ongoing as I have discussed in numerous media interviews. This is a critical process that we must get right so that citizens and not overburdened.
“Because the candidate alleged that the supposed deal includes doubling water and sewer rates, let me be clear that there is no agreement with respect to future water and sewer rates. Any statement to the contrary is misleading at best and intentionally false at worst.
“Because it is likely that $700 million or more in additional sewer repairs will be required as the legal obligations of the city undertaken in 2014, some additional rate increases will become necessary to finance the repairs. Each of those rate increases would be relatively small and would occur over a period of 15-20 years. In no case would there be a doubling of rates at one time. The necessity and extent of any rate increases will depend on the timing and work required under a modification of the Consent Decree, and, therefore, are unknown right now.”
For more information, visit the Re-Elect Tom Arceneaux for Shreveport Mayor website at tomforshreveport.com.
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