What Next? - 5/10/2006

Public services accented

Storm revealed a host of problems

By DON HAMMACK
dthammack@sunherald.com

When Gov. Haley Barbour signed a bill creating a regional water utility board in April, it became one of the biggest victories for the Governor's Commission.

The public services subcommittee chair called it the "cornerstone" of his group's recommendations, which included more cooperation between municipalities, an improved communications systems and disaster preparedness.

"I think that's one of the biggest things that's come out of it," said Bob Occhi, the general manager of Coast Electric Power Association. "It's probably one of the biggest things that will come out of it."

The creation of the utility board, which was initially opposed by the powerful county supervisors lobby, allows the region to tap into $600 million in federal funds to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.

The commission cited the existence of 14 municipal water and sewer systems, eight water districts, 19 water associations and more than 30 private water companies as a key inefficiency that could inhibit recovery. That fragmentation is even more problematic in light of expected population redistributions north from the coastline.

The commission also encouraged consolidation of school districts and police and fire departments in light of expected budget shortfalls from the decimation of tax bases, particularly in Hancock County. Bay St. Louis and Waveland, for instance, have been studying the economic feasibility of merging some or all of their cities' services.

The public services section also added a healthy chunk of responsibilities onto the state's new Wireless Communication Commission. It was created by the Legislature last year before the storm, but its mission soared in importance after nontechnical governmental officials learned communications' dirty little secret.

"It's really demonstrated the lack of interoperability between all agencies," said Bill Buffington, a communications specialist with the Wireless Commission. "For the first time, we've made a big push in this spirit of cooperation to get everybody on the same page. Before the storm, everybody talked the talk but nobody ever talked about how bad it could be. Basically, they experienced a complete failure of a number of individual systems."

The agency is well along toward acquiring a statewide voice and data network, with bids due in early June. That system will be installed starting in South Mississippi, but it obviously won't be ready for this hurricane season.

The commission has helped form interoperability agreements between the Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Department; the departments of health and public safety; the Mississippi Department of Transportation; and the military. In turn, other arrangements should improve state agencies' communication with local governments.

posted by Steve Howard @ 7:58 PM