What Are We Doing?

Truth not tricks (March 7, 2017)

Unfortunately the recent letter, Liberty’s tricks — 3/7/2017 perpetuates the falsehood that Liberty Utilities is misleading the public. I reply:

The writer claims Liberty staged an election. That comment insults the majority of the voting citizens of Apple Valley. The voters were on to the completely fake counter measure of the Town.

The presentation on Claremont, by James Belna had everything to do with Apple Valley. Claremont relied upon the same arguments, same false promises, same empty public purpose that has been presented to the Town residents. This failed in Claremont and is doomed to fail in our Town. Claremont lost $14 million as a result, can we afford it?

The writer suggests Algonquin sets water rates, it does not. One cannot compare a city/town rate setting process with a PUC rate setting process. It’s too bad the writer did not attend the Liberty Utilities open house where information about how rates are set was given to the public.

Liberty is not a monopoly protected by state law. No such law exists. Similarly, there is no evidence to back the claim that Liberty seeks excessive profits.

To say the Town has no stockholders, is also untrue. The Town is responsible to each and every resident and voter. We residents cannot accept the position of We will do what we want, we don’t care what the public wants, which lately, seems to be the Town practice.

The Town’s efforts to obtain revenues from the electrical utility and the water utility are geared for money to feed government. Experience has shown that the general fund will suddenly have utility costs associated with it, to justify a transfer from the utility fund to the general fund. The Town may well tap the revenue to defray its current expenditures. That did not work with the sewer utility. The money was wrongfully taken and has to be repaid.

It is important to understand that a public entity cannot just take an investor-owned utility. It must first PROVE that it will bring a public benefit to the community.

Thus, the jig is up for the Town. It cannot hide from its inadequate explanation of a public purpose. To insult and attack Liberty Utilities is nothing more than a tactic, covering up the shortcomings of the Town’s current quixotic position.

Diana J. Carloni
Member, Citizens for Government Accountability