Although the sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority has seemed to fall out of the headlines, I am sure interested parties and lawyers continue to bicker and rack up expenses behind the scenes.

I don’t pretend to know all the details of this deal, but it seems to me the citizens of the county who use and depend on BASA will wind up paying the penalty in higher costs regardless of the outcome — sale or no sale.

So, if we the consumers will wind up paying a higher cost regardless, why not keep ownership and control of BASA within the community and perform whatever upgrades are necessary to keep it solvent? At least if ownership is local, we will have a stronger say over what goes on with the utility.

One thing that’s very clear to me is the bureaucrats who are pushing this sale are blinded by the millions of dollars it will generate for the coffers of the government, while ignoring the peasants who will wind up paying the price of this sale in the form of higher monthly use fees.

Gary Schmiedecke, Butler