The state comptrollers office is concerned that an ad recently run in the Smithville Review may cause some confusion about the Utility Management Review Board (UMRB) hearing to be held at the county complex in Smithville on April 4.
In an unprecedented move, the hearing has been called in DeKalb County to discuss the proposed DeKalb Utility District water treatment plant.
Blake Fontenay, communications director for the comptrollers office, told the Review Friday that information in the ad claiming that the public may come out and speak at the hearing is incorrect.
“Someone passed along an ad that appeared in your paper (last week) about the hearing that’s coming up on April 4 regarding the DeKalb Utility District’s paln to build a new water treatment plant,” Fontenay said. “The thing that concerns us is that the ad actually says people should come out and attend the public hearing and  give public comment on this, and that’s not actually what’s going to happen,” he shared.
Fontenay said that while concerned citizens are welcome to attend the hearing, only members of the opposing agencies may speak publicly on the matter.
“This is an administrative law case, and the two opposing sides will be able to give their viewpoints,” Fontenay noted. “It’s similar to a courtroom trial, but it is not a public hearing. It’s called a contested case, and there is a whole set of rules that govern it. It’s like a quasi-court case, and the pro and the con will be represented. The public is welcome to attend, but there will be no forum for public input.”
More information on the process is available on the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website @ http://www.tn.gov/sos/apd/.
At an October hearing held  in Nashville, the UMRB ruled that it lacked authority to act on a petition filed by DUD ratepayers in an attempt to derail the utility’s plans to build a new water treatment plant.
While the UMRB cited lack of jurisdiction in the matter of the treatment plant at the hearing, the board agreed that it could act on the petitioners’ request for a DUD rate review.
The petition in question, a document signed by more than 1,100 of the 5,000 DUD customers, was submitted to the Tennessee Comptroller and Utility Management Review Board last year in an attempt to get a state review of DUD rates and its plan of services, including the proposed treatment plant.
Representatives from both the DUD and the UMRB agreed that the minimum of 10 percent of DUD customers had signed the petition.
The UMRB board voted 6-1 to hear the portion of the petition that deals with  rates charged and services provided.
The hearing was set for April 4 in DeKalb County in accordance with Tennessee Code 7-82-102 (a)(1), which states: “ The review by the UMRB shall be held only upon public hearings, after notice, in the county in which the utility district maintains their principle office.”
Calvert Street Group, a public relations firm hired by the City of Smithville in April to help inform residents of the planned treatment plant and its possible effects, led the petition drive.