When a private company contracts with a municipality or other government arm to provide water and sewer services, a number of issues must be clarified. The author presents these issues in a series of questions and answers: Who is the boss? The mayor or other governmental chief. Who is the owner? The boss. What type of contractual arrangement will be used? There are two options: the private company may provide just service and personnel on an on-call basis to answer the municipality's work orders, or the private company may receive general goals from the owner but bear full responsibility for meeting those goals. In either case, the boss, or mayor, is responsible for controlling the quality of service and tariffs.