July 24, 2019

Carla Reid
General Manager
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
14501 Sweitzer Lane
Laurel, MD 20707

Dear General Manager Reid:

I write today regarding Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission’s (“WSSC’s”)

budget and recent actions related to WSSC “Branding/Visual Identity.”1

As you are aware, state law closely guards how WSSC ratepayer dollars can be used. For
example, Section 25-301 of the Public Utilities Article designates any connection charge revenue
over costs to a contingency fund and debt service. Section 24-404(b) allocates System
Development Charge revenue to new facilities. And Section 25-501 requires that service rates
shall be set by the Commission as necessary to “provide funds for (1) maintaining, repairing, and
operating its water supply and sewer systems, including the overhead expense and depreciation
allowance;  and (2) making any payments to the District of Columbia, as specified in this title.”
Please explain how the $491,000 in future spending and several hundred thousand dollars in past
spending on consultants related to “Branding/Visual Identity” fit within the statutory framework.

In reviewing the WSSC budget, I could not locate the “Approved Budget” for Fiscal Year
2020 online. As the Fiscal Year 2020 budget just went into effect on July 1st, I assume it will be
posted soon. The Fiscal Year 2019 Approved Budget,2 which is online, states that 36.4% of
operating expenditures are categorized as “All Other,” the second largest category of
expenditures after Debt Service. I request the following information:

1
Katherine Shaver, “Maryland’s Largest Water Utility To Spend $850,000 on New Name and Rebranding,” The
Washington Post (July 17, 2019), https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/marylands-largest-water-utility-to-spend-
850000-on-new-name-and-rebranding/2019/07/17/3a0ef586-a89d-11e9-86dd-
d7f0e60391e9_story.html?utm_term=.9562056842c2.
2
"Approved Budget: Fiscal Year 2019." WSSC Water. July 1, 2018.
https://www.wsscwater.com/files/live/sites/wssc/files/Financial/FY%252719%20Approved%20Budget%20V3.pdf
 1. A line item breakdown of operating expenditures classified as “All Other” for the Fiscal
Year 2020 budget.
2. A designation of which of those “All Other” line items are considered overhead under
Section 25-501.
3. The total overhead expenditures for WSSC for Fiscal Year 2020.
4. The percentage of WSSC’s total operating budget for Fiscal Year 2020 that is overhead.
5. If WSSC benchmarks to other public water utilities, please provide a comparison of
WSSC’s overhead as a percentage of the operating budget to peer utilities.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. I would appreciate your
response in writing within 30 days. Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Marc Korman