Saundra McDavid

The Eagle city council unanimously voted to dissolve the LID, which was created by Senator Bastian, Mayor Bandy and Councilman Guerber in 2007 for the purpose of purchasing Eagle Water Company without going through the normal procedures of allowing the residents to vote on the purchase. The three new councilmen, Huffaker, Shoushtarian and Semanko, made public statements along the lines of the LID being the wrong way to accomplish the purpose of buying the water company, and the purchase of the water company still needing to be evaluated. Mayor Bandy and Councilman Guerber also made public statements, but conspicuously absent from those statements was any admission that the creation of the LID was a mistake, or even that it was a significant misjudgment of the public’s perception of a forced assessment instead of a vote. In fact, Councilman Guerber even went so far as to claim that the Constitution specifically allows a city to purchase a water company. Councilman Guerber might try first reading the Constitution before he makes this claim. Nowhere in the Idaho Constitution does it specifically give a city the explicit right to create a LID for the specific purpose of purchasing a water company in order to subvert the people’s right to vote. If only our lawmakers could read their laws….. (See Below)

The next city council meeting will address the revenue bond that is being proposed to fund the purchase of Eagle Water Company. Councilman Huffaker rightly made statements on the record that before the Special Bond Election on May 27th the City needed to show that moving forward with the purchase was the right move for Eagle. He stated that it needs to be resolved whether the purchase price is fair, and whether Eagle would be better served by the City or another company operating Eagle Water Company.

Idaho Constitution:

Article VIII SECTION 3.LIMITATIONS ON COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL INDEBTEDNESS.

…any city…may…purchase…water systems, and for the purpose of paying the cost thereof, may…with the assent of a majority of the qualified electors voting at an election to be held for that purpose, issue revenue bonds therefor, the principal and interest of which to be paid solely from revenue derived from rates and charges for the use of, and the service rendered by such systems, plants and facilities, as may be prescribed by law;

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