Only care about making money (December 20, 2015)

Angela Painter makes several unsupported and unsupportable claims in attacking Ranchos Water Company and The Carlyle Group, but the one that really cries out for rebuttal is that they care about nothing but making money on their investment (Thank you, Town Council, Daily Press, December 20, 2015).

Without the cash infusions made possible by the purchase of Ranchos by The Carlyle Group, our water system would still be in the sad condition it was under the previous owners. While the previous owners were doing everything they could, they simply didn’t have the financial muscle of The Carlyle Group to get our water system back on track.

You don’t have to take my word for it: The Town Council didn’t even put in an offer for Ranchos when it was up for sale to The Carlyle Group, no doubt in part because of the huge investment needed in maintenance and other infrastructure. Not only that, but Ranchos purchased additional water rights under the ownership of The Carlyle Group. Now that the system is in great shape, the Town wants to step in and save residents from the professionals.

The Town Council couldn’t care less about providing water to residents. The only thing it sees are dollar signs. If Painter and others think they will be better off when they are paying for water and for incompetent Town management of the water system, they are in for a rude awakening.

Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.