Lawmaker: Sell MUD to pay debts (Another R wants to privatize a public utility success)

[Omaha Steve]

MUD info below story.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20131231/NEWS/131239820

By Cody Winchester Published Wednesday, January 1, 2014 at 1:00 am / Updated at 12:08 am

State Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh thinks he’s found a way to pay for Omaha’s costly sewer overhaul, with enough left over to help out its underfunded pensions and Omaha schools: Sell the Metropolitan Utilities District.

Lautenbaugh, an Omaha lawmaker who floated the idea in 2012, said he would introduce a bill this legislative session to privatize the district and use the proceeds to pay the $2 billion cost of the sewer separation project. The rest of the money would be used to upgrade technology and security in Omaha Public Schools and offset the city’s pension liability.

“Something’s got to give here to pay these huge outstanding liabilities,” Lautenbaugh said. “We’ve got to get out from under them.”

He estimated MUD could fetch $3 billion in a sale, though that number is speculative. He said “people in the industry” have examined the district’s annual reports and told him $3 billion is a reasonable estimate. He declined to elaborate.

FULL story at link.

http://www.mudomaha.com/about-us

Serving our Community for 100 years: 1913-2013

Metropolitan Utilities District (M.U.D.) is the only metropolitan utility district in the State of Nebraska, serving 600,000 people or approximately one-third of the state's population. We are a public utility and proud to be customer-owned. The District is governed by a board of seven directors, elected by our customer-owners. The board meets the first Wednesday of every month.

As the fifth largest public gas utility in the United States, we provide a product and service at rates that are lower than area investor-owned utilities and among the lowest in the Midwest. We serve natural gas to customer-owners in Omaha, Bennington, Fort Calhoun, Springfield, Yutan and 85 percent of Bellevue.

We also provide safe drinking water to Omaha, Bellevue, Bennington, Carter Lake, La Vista, Ralston, Waterloo and the Papio-Missouri Natural Resources District (which supplies water to Fort Calhoun). Our water meets all state and federal standards for safe drinking water.

Besides providing natural gas and water to customers in the metro area, we also provide a cost-saving service to municipalities by collecting sewer use and trash fees.

And: The History

The Nebraska Legislature created the Metropolitan Utilities District in the early 1900s as a political subdivision of the State to provide water and natural gas to the metropolitan Omaha area.

Our first water treatment plant was built near the Missouri River in 1889 by a private company. Omaha received water and gas service from private water and gas companies until the citizens of Omaha became dissatisfied with high costs, constant ownership changes and poor service, and voted to take control and ownership of their utilities.

The Legislature created the Metropolitan Water District in 1913.

Five years later, state senators authorized the City of Omaha, which had acquired the gas system by condemnation, to assign the responsibility for operation of the gas system to the Metropolitan Water District. The name was changed to the Metropolitan Utilities District.