There is no denying that the $8 million starting point thrown out by a private utility company interested in purchasing Trumbull County’s Southeast Public Water System does appear to be low.

Whether appearances are accurate, though, remains to be seen.

Frankly, we are by no means knowledgeable on the going price for water systems these days.

And we’d be willing to bet Trumbull County commissioners aren’t either.

That’s why we urge county officials to take seriously the invitation to enter discussions with Aqua Ohio Inc. The due diligence process also should involve open discussions with Trumbull County water customers to get their input on current water quality, rates and other issues involving the utility.

Trumbull County’s Southeast Public Water System supplies water to all or parts of Brookfield, Vienna and Hubbard townships. The $8 million initial offer was sent from Aqua in a preliminary proposal March 14 to the Trumbull County commissioners.

In the March 14 correspondence, Aqua Ohio Inc.’s President Robert Davis said the company is ready to assume ownership, with a commitment of infrastructure investment and the ability to negotiate water rates. He acknowledged the $8 million number is a minimum purchase price, and the company is inviting negotiations.

Aqua Ohio now provides services and water to Struthers, Campbell, Lowellville and Canfield in Mahoning County. It has a request for qualifications being considered in Jackson and Milton townships, also in Mahoning County.

Aqua operates water systems in seven states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Indiana, Virginia and Ohio. With more than 500,000 customers, Aqua Ohio has the second-largest number of customers in the company’s system.

The idea of converting the Southeast water system to Aqua is being greeted with open arms by some elected leaders in the region who say they are dissatisfied with water quality from the existing system.

In fact, Aqua’s Davis told our reporter the company was actually approached by some trustees from the Southeast water district approximately a year ago to determine whether the company would be interested in supplying water.

Vienna Trustee Phil Pegg said he is hopeful, noting Vienna has three concerns: water quality, lack of new investment into the Southeast district and concerns about annexation attempts by Niles and its business supporters. The water currently provided to this part of the county is purchased by Trumbull County from Niles, which purchases it from the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.

Niles leaders recently have suggested that some Niles utility users who live outside Niles should be forced to annex into the city. The idea has been alarming to some area utility users.

Further, Pegg said this is the perfect time to have discussions about service being received by the Southeast district because the original 20-year contract signed with Niles / MVSD is about to end.

Rick Hernandez, Hubbard Township trustee chairman, also expressed interest in the county working with Aqua Ohio, and said he probably would support the move.

When asked by reporter Raymond Smith, commissioners sounded skeptical about the offer. In fact, it had been more than three weeks since Aqua’s letter had been received, but there had been no public mention nor discussion of it until our reporter caught wind of it and began asking questions.

The change would affect an estimated 3,000 Trumbull County customers in the Southeast water district, and, when asked by our newspaper, all three commissioners individually raised concerns about rates under Aqua. Specifically, Commissioner Niki Frenchko said she feared that without competition, the private company could remain unchallenged and raise rates.

Certainly, that is a valid concern.

But ultimately, we also believe there is nothing to lose by exploring all the options when it comes to utilities.

Questions about rates and guarantees must be explored.

County officials also should be seeking answers about how much revenue the county might stand to generate in property taxes if the system were owned by a private company rather than by the government.

Of course, personnel is an issue. What would happen to the county’s Sanitary Engineer employees currently needed to run that part of the county’s water system?

There is much to be discussed. We believe it would be beneficial to open the door on such talks with great transparency that also involve input from the 3,000 or so water customers who would be affected.

editorial@tribtoday.com