RUSS has problems

April 2, 2012

Richmond, Iowa

To the Editor:

For some time now, events in Washington County have been causing citizens to suspect that the Regional Utilities Service Systems (RUSS) has serious problems. In fact, it has become clear that it is a deeply flawed organization. Another piece of evidence surfaced recently in the March 20, 2012, ?Fairfield Ledger? article, ?Mahaska County seeks way out of RUSS.?

Bryce Hudson, executive director of RUSS, is quoted as saying, ?I think in a year or so we can turn this organization around.? This is quite an admission that there are more than just a few small problems. Indeed, it may be that Mahaska County Supervisor Ken Rozenboom could read the handwriting on the wall when he said, ?We?ve never used it [RUSS], and we never will.?

In our opinion, RUSS needs to go into ?rehab?!

When we try to imagine what a ?turned-around RUSS? should look like, we are reminded of Thomas Paine?s adage, ?That government is best which governs least.? It would seem that in order to rehabilitate RUSS, you would have to stop it from doing most of what it has been doing, and teach it to do the few things that are actually needed. In short, it needs to be cut way down to size.

We would like to see a small consulting organization which offers its services only when needed, and when requested. Counties and municipalities could use some advice and assistance in applying for government grants and loans. And what is sorely needed is help in finding independent, disinterested expert assistance to identify whatever wastewater problems actually exist and to determine the least expensive and least disruptive solutions.

With the possible exception of assisting with grants and loans, RUSS has no competence to find and fix wastewater problems, but hands the job over to one of a few private firms. In Richmond, a nightmare of an expensive, complicated sewer system was chosen without even bothering to find out what problems, if any, actually exist.

In any case, it looks to us as though RUSS is sinking fast as it thrashes around, grasping at anything in reach, simply to avoid drowning. Of course people in Richmond are not very happy about being in the grip of a flawed bureaucracy as it desperately tries to stay afloat a little longer, and they are doing all they can to avoid being dragged under with it.

We wish Mr. Hudson luck as he begins his ?year or so? attempt to ?turn this organization [RUSS] around,? but Richmond begs him to first let go of us ? please!

And all this makes the upcoming elections a most opportune time to replace county supervisors Rich, and Mangold, who voted Richmond into this debacle.

Bill and Bonnie Knutson