Make no mistake: The controversy swirling around the Chester Water Authority isn't really about water.
It's about money.
Lots of money.
There were two important developments in the story this week.
First, Chester Water Authority went to court seeking to have the company placed into a trust. That is part of a deal in which Chester Water would kick in $60 million to the city coffers. In return, the city would relinquish its right to sell any company assets. To raise the money, Chester Water would hike its rates by 10 percent.
The Chester Water Authority board unanimously backed the deal. But Chester City Council has not yet voted on it.
And public utility giant Aqua Pa. - which got this whole scenario going back in May 2017 when they made an unsolicited offer of $320 million to buy the company. That offer was rejected by the Chester Water board.
For awhile, Aqua went away.
Now they're back.
As a customer of Chester Water, they went to court in an effort to block the deal between the city and the authority. That suit is now expected to be heard in October.
Chester apparently doesn't want to wait that long. Last week they announced they were accepting RFPs - Request for Proposal - for firms interested in buying the company, which the city still asserts it has the right to sell off.
Guess who is interested? Yes, that would be Aqua Pa.
But all sides will not have to wait until October to exchange pleasantries in court.
A hearing on the trust process is set for July 19 before Delaware County Judge Spiros Angelos in Orphans Court. Aqua has filed to intervene in that matter and will be heard from, along with Chester Water, the city, and customers.
But even more fascinating is another move approved by the Chester Water Authority Board this week.
They are putting out an RFQ - Request for Qualifications - to have an investigation done on this entire saga - the attempted purchase of the authority and what it refers to as a "takeover" of its customers and assets.
It doesn't take a lot of reading between the lines to figure out that the Chester Water Authority Board is not exactly convinced that everyone played by the rules in this corporate battle.
They maintain that their customers and ratepayers - 42,000 customers in a couple dozen communities in both Delaware and Chester Counties - have the right to know what is going on.
In other words, Chester Water Authority is bringing up the bellwether phrase of every political or corporate struggle.
They want to know who knew what and when.
This involves a ton of money and some very well-known names.
Just call it Delco's own version of the Mueller Report.
Get the details here.
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