BY MARK SCHUMANN

State Rep. Debbie Mayfield’s proposed legislation addressing municipal utility boundaries amounts to little more than her taking sides in a dispute between the city and the county.

The two governments are at odds over who will provide water, wastewater and sewer service to the south barrier island when the current franchise agreement expires in 2017.  Unfortunately, Mayfield is dragging the Florida Legislature into the dispute.

Because Mayfield’s House Bill 733 will get the attention and likely objection of nearly every city that owns and electric, water, or natural gas utility, the legislation will have to clear some high hurdles before it becomes law.

One key provision in Mayfield’s bill would allow counties to assume utility services in unincorporated areas previously served by cities.  First, though, counties will have to wait until existing franchise agreements expire, and they will be required to conduct referendums or mail surveys to determine the wishes of residents in the affected area.

But Mayfield’s bill goes even further.  Provided sufficient right of way is available, counties will be permitted to construct parallel utility infrastructure when they are taking a service area over from a city.  They will not have to buy the city’s existing lines and pipes, costing cities millions in stranded assets.

If County Commissioner Bob Solari had written this bill himself, the proposed legislation could hardly be any more favorable to the county in its effort to take over the city’s water and sewer service area on the south barrier island.

Ironically, because the county just conducted a mail survey, as is called for in Mayfield’s proposed legislation, opponents of the bill will be able to demonstrate to the legislature just how bogus such surveys can be.

In asking residents on the south barrier island whether they would prefer to be served by the city or the county, the county made no effort to inform the survey participants that if they chose to continue as city customers they could still receive county rates for the full term of any renewed franchise agreement.

Solari, who spoke recently to a gathering of south beach property owners, failed to inform them of the city’s offer to match county rates.  He also made no mention of the fact that it will cost the county $10 million or more to connect its mainland system to the island, and to either buy the city’s utility infrastructure in the area, or to install county lines.