In order to prevent the city’s water system from entering into a ‘fiscal crisis,’ former Newark, New Jersey Mayor Sharpe James proposed selling water utilities to the Newark Infrastructure Management Corporation (NIMAC).

But citizens of Newark were not so easily persuaded to forgo control over their water system for a financial crisis that the Mayor had not made clear.

The Water for All Campaign assisted people in Newark in analyzing the proposed contract. The Campaign found the plan to be “a quick fix, but a quick fix with long-term ramifications.” In testimony to the city council we exposed the major flaws in the proposed privatization:  for the next forty years, the public would have no control over important decisions related to their water. And even worse, NIMAC was to take over the water system without any competition in the contract bidding process and with no experience in running a major water operation.

The citizens responded to the mayor’s proposal by organizing. A group of Newark citizens staged a ‘Drink In’ where they served samples of Newark tap water, informed residents about the issue at hand, and distributed fliers urging residents to take part in a public hearing.

In the fall of 2003, the city council voted 7-2 to rescind the privatization plan, with several council members citing citizens’ disapproval and the unclear details on the ‘fiscal crisis’ as the deciding factors in changing their vote. Councilman Donald Tucker told the Star-Ledger that the vote was “a turning point in citizen involvement” in Newark.

After the plan was overturned, the city began looking into improving the public water system and appointed an advisory board.

Read our analysis of the proposed privatization plan.