At a press conference Friday morning, Sen. Derek Slap (D-West Hartford) stressed the proposed bill is not intended as an attack on the politically-connected water supplier but rather more of a ‘nudge’ to reset the balance of power in favor of towns and water consumers. 

By Hugh McQuaid, CTNewsJunkie.com 

A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the areas around Hartford that included state Sen. Derek Slap and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, both of West Hartford, made a case on Friday for expanding oversight of the Metropolitan District Commission, the quasi-public agency that provides water and sewer services to much of the region.

The bill, raised for a public hearing in the Planning and Development Committee, would require an ethics code, annual audits of the agency by state auditors, as well as a task force to study its charter.

“The Metropolitan District delivers high-quality services to hundreds of thousands of state residents; those residents deserve to know more about how the MDC operates,” Slap said. “This legislation is designed to help improve transparency and public information about the MDC. Additionally, the MDC’s charter was drafted in the late 1920s, and retains language reflecting a time nearly a century ago; re-examining the charter in a modern light could provide significant value. I’m looking forward to working to pass this bill and improve this important organization.”

Gilchrest said the MDC is something she hears about often from constituents. “Our community members want transparency, accountability and conservation.”

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