DEAR EDITOR:

When Denny Malloy landed in his role as a Trumbull County Commissioner, my Trumbull County water and sewage bill in Howland was around $51/month. After four years of Malloy, that same bill, with no changes in my consumption, is now $72/month. Denny raised my bill by $20!

Why did the increase happen? Why did he vote to get rid of the county’s separate water districts, which allowed for metrics such as population density, the age of infrastructure and where the water came from when figuring out what people should pay? He said (during a meeting), “Howland is paying $3 less (per 1,000 gallons) than Bazetta, and we can see the lake from where we live.” Direct quote.

As commissioner, his mission has been to ensure he is not in office for all county residents. He’s there to settle imagined scores for folks living north of state Route 305 and for those out in the townships in the outlying confines of the county with actions like pumping taxpayer money into the fight to save the dam in Leavittsburg or pulling county offices out of Warren and into Cortland, so northerners have a 15-minute shorter drive to do business. That’s cool. Good for him and good for them, finally having a voice in Denny, but I’m not supporting it.

I think for the first time in a long time I’m pulling a Republican ballot just to vote against Malloy. At the very least I’ll feel better every month when I pay my county water bill with that Malloy “I live in Howland” tax applied.

JOSHUA NATIVIO

Warren