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led to believe by the fact that he or she went through this process and got a favorable ruling from <br />a Commission that I've been vindicated, but they're not. So I think it, in this area of grievances <br />and -. It probably, at one time, was a very useful provision, but I think it's outlived its usefulness. <br />IRVINE: So you'd leave nothing in its place? <br />WURDEMAN: Take away that function. <br />IRVINE: Of the Police Commission? <br />WURDEMAN: They have some other functions, but I'd take -. <br />IRVINE: Oh. <br />WURDEMAN: That one away. <br />IRVINE: Right. That function and the -, but you'd leave no -. I mean then who <br />would be investigating these problems? <br />WURDEMAN: Well, the Police Department has an Internal Affairs Unit, and they, they're <br />supposed to do that. <br />• IRVINE: Okay. <br />WURDEMAN: I guess I overlooked the biggest one, which is the water and the sewer. <br />HIGASHI: Saving that for last. <br />WURDEMAN: Yeah. I know the Water Department's going to oppose this strongly, but <br />I firmly believe that it's a good idea, and I'll tell you why. And the problem is -, there's three <br />reasons why it's a good idea. One, we have a hell of a time collecting sewer bills because <br />people -, con -wise people feel no need to pay them because they don't have the threat of having <br />their water cut off. <br />Two, federal requirements, conditions on federal aid require that the sewer fund be maintained or <br />be self-sustaining. The rates are presently set by the Council. For political reasons, the Council is <br />not always willing to raise the sewer rates up to the point where the system will be self-sustaining, <br />so they always lag. Hopefully, if it was put under the Water Commission, they'd be less subject <br />to outside pressure to keep the rates at a low level. <br />And thirdly, the point that was brought out by the Mayor when he was here a couple weeks ago, <br />that sometime in the future, we're going to have to really look seriously at using wastewater as a <br />water resource, and it would make sense to have, to have the whole cycle under one authority. <br />23 <br />