DEP Oversight

The NY Daily News reports this morning that the DEP has decided to appoint an ombudsman to handle water bill complaints: "The appointment comes on the heels of a massive change to water bills: The City Council voted last month to put liens on properties when owners fail to pay their bills."

That's great news, considering that the agency is clueless, and often simply has no idea who owes what, or if the bills that were sent out to any given resident or business is legitimate. Now, however, in order to really right the ship here, we need for the city to put the entire agency under receivership-its years of malfeasance and nonfeasance should be addressed by a complete housecleaning and overhaul.