Monday, September 08, 2014

City vs Wall Street

The City of Missoula's (click here) legal expenses are running ahead of projections in its quest to take over Mountain Water Co.
    
The city is suing the Carlyle Group, a global equity firm that owns the company, to take it over under eminent domain. Trial is set for March 2015.
    
The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/1qsTBfk ) that Mayor John Engen had estimated this spring that the city would pay $400,000 in legal fees for both the city and the company. Missoula had planned to spend a total of $4.24 million on the condemnation....


The people of Missoula want to own their own water supply. They want to direct it's quality and availability. They believe it is there right to own an entire city's water supply. I believe they are correct. One of the basic needs of any person is water and to that end there should never be a profit motivated Wall Street company directing a town's water use. So now, Carlyle the company that brought you insecurity in your own use of mobile devices, wants to run up expenses for Missoula as an incentive to end the legal action by the people of the city. That isn't going to happen and Missoula has the right of eminent domain to secure a water supply for it's citizens.

Carlyle should graciously take the offer of $50 million as a good offering before Missoula takes Mountain Water for far less.