To the editor:
As you have read, Smithfield owes the Jefferson County Water and Sewer Department more than $150,000. The county commissioners have offered Smithfield a tradeoff - turn the village's water department over to the county, and it will forgive your debt.
What you also need to know is that by taking over the Smithfield water system, we would get a dilapidated, out-dated system that is going to cost county water customers thousands of dollars to upgrade. This is water that you and I have paid for, and now the commissioners want to forgive Smithfield of this debt. If you or I don't pay our water bills, we get our water shut off and our meter pulled.
The commissioners want to take Smithfield to court if they don't agree to this deal. A judge has already ruled that Smithfield must pay this bill, so why are we going to spend water department money to go to court?
The department had to pay out thousands of dollars a couple of years ago over the episode at Lake Lodge. The commissioners said then that we don't want to spend more of the water department money to go to court, so you and I paid thousands of dollars over that episode.
Now, suddenly, money is no problem. When your water bill goes up, remember this letter.
Harry C. Andrews
Toronto
