The Tampa Tribune is reporting that Tampa officials want no part of a proposal offered up recently by Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman to consolidate the County and City's water departments.
The call by Norman at the Board's November 4th meeting caught Tampa officials completely unaware, and since according to the Trib they were expected to pay for a considerable amount of the costs of the $400,000 study, apparently it wasn't too awkward to reject the idea.
Norman called for potential consolidation also with the water departments of the two incorporated municipalities in the district, Temple Terrace and Plant City.
The Trib reported earlier this month that Norman was prepared to get the cold shoulder, but felt it was worth pursuing, saying "The bottom line is, if you don't want to cooperate and lower water rates and save taxpayers money, don't be part of it… I'm trying to come up with a solution that delivers water at a lower rate for this entire county."
Norman has served on the Board for 17 years. He is term limited out next November and is running to become a member of the state senate, running as a Republican in the district seat held by Victor Crist, who is also term limited
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2009.