Am I the only one in Butler who sees the sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority as a bad deal for ratepayers?! I have followed the sale in the Butler Eagle, but have seen a few vague advantages to the ratepayers. It appears to be a money grab by the city and the Butler Township commissioners!

As ratepayers, we already have paid for the infrastructure once. In fact, many projects have been partially paid for by state grants. This means the infrastructure already is owned by the taxpayers.

While it’s true Center and Summit townships have filed to have this decision overturned, it is not for the noble reason of preventing taxpayer rip-off, but because they are not getting their cut of the cash!

I get that running such a facility is painful and may be better done by professionals. But the sale price should be only for debts owed. This reduces buyer cost and consequently reduces increases to ratepayers. With the sale as is, we ratepayers are forced to pay for the BASA infrastructure twice. The sale is going to be very expensive!

The Public Utility Commission was split 3-2, and the administrative judge recommended against the sale. It would seem clear that benefits to the ratepayers are at best questionable as seen by knowledgeable people.

Stop the sale until common sense prevails.

John W. Conrad, Butler Township