Aug. 27, 2024

HARRISBURG – Rep. John Lawrence (R-Chester) issued the following statement regarding Monday’s filing in federal bankruptcy court by Michael Doweary, the state-appointed receiver for the City of Chester:

“Yesterday, the state-appointed receiver for the City of Chester filed a plan in federal court that would terminate the Chester Water Authority’s (CWA’s) board of directors. I am completely opposed to this plan.

“As recently as yesterday, the state-appointed receiver claimed, and I quote, ‘Chester has ownership and control of the Chester Water Authority.’ That is an outrageous and false statement, and the receiver’s motion filed in federal court admits as much. The receiver uses these words on the bottom of page 32 of his filing in federal court. Under his plan, ‘Water assets shall revert to the city by force.’ Think about it – where are the water assets going to revert from? One minute the receiver claims the city already owns the water system, the next minute he asks a federal judge to order the assets ‘revert’ back to the city, which has to mean that the water authority is not owned by the city.

“The receiver also asks the federal judge to dissolve the authority’s board, which was established by an unanimously passed state law that has been on the books for more than a decade. The receiver is asking a federal judge to completely disregard the law. It’s outrageous.

“When they talk about monetizing the authority, what they mean is asking the authority’s ratepayers to bail out the city for decades of financial mismanagement. It is irresponsible and outrageous to suggest that folks who pay their water bills and receive quality water from a well-run water authority should be asked to pony up and pay higher bills for the financial mismanagement of the city.

“The receiver was appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf and is employed by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. His actions directly reflect on the governor’s administration.

“Gov. Josh Shapiro needs to take the sale, the monetization, whatever euphemism you want to use…the sale of the Chester Water Authority needs to be taken off the table. He should make an announcement today, stating the Chester Water Authority is not for sale, not for monetization and not for takeover.”

Editor’s Note: Video of Rep. Lawrence’s remarks can be found at this link.

Representative John Lawrence
13th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717.260.6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
RepLawrence.com
Share