Briley kept secret Metro's water financial mess. Now, not even enough reserves for emergency repairs.

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Smoking Gun internal documents obtained by News4 investigates show the Briley administration withheld important information from council about how bad metro's water system financial crisis was. ... the  Tennessee Comptroller’s Office said Wednesday that the water department's financial crisis is so urgent and real  that it  wouldn't have  enough money to make emergency repairs..
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Wednesday, Metro council members were dumbfounded to learn the water department’s finances are in such dire straights that the comptroller’s office threatened to take it over more than a year and a half ago....What’s worse, council members were never told,  though the state had been warning metro for  three years. (Read the rest of the story)

Rod's Comment:  This is an outrage. It was not simply an oversight. It was intentionally withholding vital information. There is no excuse for this.  If Briley did not violate a law and cannot be punished, the Council should at least pass a strongly worded resolution condemning his actions.  Reforms need to be instituted so this can never happen again.

For more on this see, Glover Reviews How Three Mayoral Generations of Neglect Could Affect Water Rates. This article post the transcript of a interview with Council member at-large Steve Glover on talk radio.  One interesting think in this report is that Glover informs people that some of the money paid by water customers for water does not go to support the water system but is diverted to pay for the Titans stadium. $4.5 million is paid from water rates to support the stadium.  I have told people this and they either act like they don't believe me or are shocked to discover it.  I remember when the stadium deal went to the people in a referendum and passed overwhelmingly. I opposed it for this one reason, that I did not think we should use water rates to fund it. To a certain extent, the mess in which Nashville finds itself is the fault of Nashvillians. They voted for the Nissan stadium deal and they elected the mayors who deceived us.

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