Grassroots of Tarboro

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/blogs/content/
shared-gen/blogs/communities/herrin/entries/2008/07/15/
hey_electricities_give_us_a_br.html
Click here

Boycott the Daily Southerner until they lift their veil of protection and really report.

Hey, ElectriCities … give us a break!
By Jeff Herrin | Tuesday, July 15, 2008, 04:37 PM

Whatever you might think of the six-digit salaries commanded by almost 30 top executives at ElectriCities or the skyrocketing interest rates on some of the debt held by the management company, there’s no denying that things are getting tough for local businesses.

As Telegram staff writer John Henderson reported Sunday, the proposed 14 percent electric rate increase is likely to have a big impact on everyone - from giant power users such as Nash General Hospital to mom and pop operations such as Koretizing One Hour Cleaners. That doesn’t even begin to address the folks like you and me, who are likely to see our utility bills jump if Rocky Mount passes along the increase.

ElectriCities board members told Henderson that the salaries paid to top executives (CEO Jesse Tilton makes almost a half-million a year) have to be high to attract the best and brightest to those positions. Board Chairman Sam Noble also defended ElectriCities’ borrowing practices, saying the board signed off on the deal that converted fixed-rate bonds to those with variable rates, too.

That’s all well and good, but neither factor makes the rate increase sit any better with the rest of us. The top executives of ElectriCities would buy themselves a world of positive press if they would announce plans to take a pay cut this year. At the very least, why not stagger the increase? A 7 percent hike now and the rest in January would still hurt, but at least it would spread out the pain a little bit.

There’s no point in kidding ourselves. Energy costs are going up all over the country. Even so, the taste of that increase is especially bitter to Rocky Mount and the 31 other cities in the N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency, which ElectriCities is paid to manage.

How about sweetening the deal a little?

Click Here To watch the Wilson City Council Meeting

You can watch the embarrassment of a board member, Mayor Bruce Rose in Wilson. People have a right to ask questions and to get answers.

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/search/content/news/
opinion/stories/2008/07/19/ratesedit.html Click Here

Rocky Mount Telegram on How a Council should not respond -- referring to Tarboro

Our View: Utility rate hike too much, too fast

Saturday, July 19, 2008

A decision by Tarboro's Town Council to up electric rates is one more blow to the local economy and a confirmation to residents that costs are going up everywhere.

The fact that Tarboro already has made a pre-emptive rate hike shows just how Tarboro Town Manager Sam Noble – who also is chairman of the ElectriCities board of directors – thinks the area's power supplier will react to a proposed 14 percent hike in the wholesale cost of power it provides.

Tarboro (as will all municipalities served by ElectriCities, including Rocky Mount) faced a tough choice when hearing of ElectriCities' plans. Unfortunately for that town's residents, it made the wrong choice and at the wrong time.

Passing along a double-digit rate hike before the power supplier has even made its decision seems premature. It also sends the wrong message.

No, jacking up utility bills isn't OK with Tarboro Town Council's constituents. Just ask them. The quick-draw rate hike is especially egregious in light of the 30 or so top executives at ElectriCities pulling in six-figure salaries.

How about asking some of those folks to tighten their belts before coming after those who can barely scrape by, thanks to high electric bills, sky high gas prices, rising food costs ... Need we go on?

ElectriCities should have found a more palatable way to deal with its financial missteps rather than dumping an inflated bill on cash-strapped residents.

But since it didn't, the cities and towns represented by ElectriCities should fight for their residents. That's what our elected officials were voted in to do. Tarboro's Town Council is to represent Tarboro residents – not ElectriCities' board of directors. And we can't think of a single way that the council's decision to smack working folks and small business owners over the head with a blunt 13.2 percent electric rate hike best represents them.

As Telegram Editor Jeff Herrin suggested in his online blog, at the very least ElectriCities could stagger the increases over time to spread the pain a little. Tarboro leaders could have pushed for that option, and had it gained any favor among ElectriCities' board, the town just might have been looking at bearing a lighter burden than what it faces come August when the rate spike goes into effect.

Other area cities and towns under the ElectriCities umbrella should look at Tarboro's precedent and consider it the prime example of what not to do. We need leaders who'll stand up for us all and ensure we're being treated fairly. Noble and the rest of the Town Council could do better by remembering that.

I am totally disgusted with this mess. My electric bill has never been $100or $150 and I live in a newer house!! Our rates are higher than every other entity.

It is time for City Councils to step up and pass resolutions to CLEAN THIS PLACE up once and for all. We cannot afford to go to 2025 with a promise from these people that things will get better. They never do.

I don't know the details of the ElectriCities budget. BUT our city council should demand to see it and not accept anything BLINDLY.

Then they can pass a resolution telling them to make cuts. If every board member stood for that, there would be change and they will not stand for it unless city councils stand up. Bruce Rose can be removed from ElectriCities Board for not doing his due diligence for the people.

The suggestions I saw make sense:

CUT $168,000 Board of Directors Salary per year. They are mayors and managers - they do not need additional salary to make bad decisions. Rose does not need to take it or give it to charity, he needs to have it cut and applied to the bottom line.

Executive management – cap CEO at $250,000 - I am sure you can get a good one in eastern NC for this amount, save $200,000; cut $2 million from $6 million personnel budget; cap raises at 2.5%, no bonuses for these people. Look at past salaries and bonuses and you will see the abuse. Look at it over 5 years.

Out of stateTravel, Sr Staff boondoggles, Annual Meeting (out of state), boondoggles and drinking events – save $200,000+

Cap legal fees at $150,000 (save $350,000+)

Eliminate contract lobbyists and cut staff lobbyists and save $500,000 (they keep losing them every month any way)

SAVE $3,218,000 – apply it to the $12 million in costs due to the poorly thought out refinancing. This will help the bottom line.

Then eliminate ElectriCities and split the Eastern Power Agency and Western Power Agency. They are separate any way.
Fund only the 20 eastern power agency staff in eastern NC. save hundreds of thousands more now and in the future. No telling how much more this will save. They will be out here with us; fewer people; lower salaries and working for us. This will probably save MILLIONS. Be bold. Consider options. Ask for the details.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. STEP UP TO THE PLATE.

http://www.wilsontimes.com/Opinion/Editorials/
Story/Don-t-compound-NCEMPA-errors--

http://www.wilsontimes.com/Opinion/Letters/Story/
City-Council-should-challenge-NCEMPA-s-claims--rates--

Wilson Times is on Board now with editorials.

The City Council should NOT have passed something before it went through the process, regardless of Sam Noble's position. That is undemocratic. The council needs to pass a resolution demanding cuts at ElectriCities for the CONSTITUENTS THEY SERVE. These cuts will make a difference.

CUT $168,000 Board of Directors Salary per year. THey are mayors and managers and already get paid. If they cannot serve without money, step aside so someone else can.

Executive management -cap CEO at $250,000, save $200,000; cut $2 million from $6 million personnel budget; cap raises at 2.5%, no bonuses. Look at past salaries and bonuses and you will see the abuse. Look at it over 5 years.

Out of stateTravel, Sr Staff boondoggles, Annual Meeting (out of state), boondoggles and drinking events ý save $200,000+

Cap legal fees at $150,000 (save $350,000+)

Eliminate contract lobbyists and cut staff lobbyists and save $500,000 (they can losing them every month any way)

SAVE $3,218,000 apply it to the $12 million in costs due to the poorly thought out refinancing. This will help the bottom line

Then eliminate ElectriCities and split the Eastern Power Agency and Western Power Agency. Fund only the 20 eastern power agency staff in eastern NC. save hundreds of thousands more now and in the future.

ps we are sticking with this issue and our numbers will grow until we get this place under oversight.

Terry Smith ...
Does he not understand a DEMOCRACY? The bigger, better Rocky Mount paper and today, the WILSON paper get it.

The ISSUE is, Mr. Smith, you do not VOTE ON AN INCREASE until it has been referred to you to VOTE ON. It is supposed to go to rate committee, board, ncempa and THEN the cities. Hertford understood that, Elizabeth City understood that, Rocky Mount understood that. Sam NOBLE should not bypass the system ASSUMING it will pass as is. HE has done nothing to find solutions, make cuts or take a stand on an incompetent CEO.

His council members should UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND WAIT and NOT ASSUME MR NOBLE IS ALL KNOWING. They need to do their jobs.

Mr. SMITH - do some reasearch and get off the Sam happy wagon. It is boring.

(Note: As editor of this site I chose to remove a portion of a sentence from this post, it did not alter the meaning. - Betty)

I think Jeff Herrin's response is perfect. I could not agree more. Why won't Sam Noble and his Council stand up and ask questions and demand answers? That is what they are paid to do. Who are the protecting? We need to remember this at election time. Like Jeff, I want someone to rant and pound the table and ask the tough questions.

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/herrin/

It is shock week and the topic is electricities

www.bluenc.com/shock-week

Another thought as I read through some of the information on here. I am very interested in green power, climate change. Our rates will probably quadruple if ElectriCities tries to do that. We need the Council to stand up on this issue and make cuts and redirect some funds to future purchases of power in the green market. We need to be a leader, not a mismanaged follower.

Need a volunteer in Tarboro to run with this press release to paper and city council. Other cities on board.

For Immediate Release by City Spokespersons representing this cause statewide.

Citizens and Business Uniting for Leadership, Excellence and Responsibility

A Change in Leadership is Needed at ElectriCities of NC

ElectriCities of NC is a not-for-profit trade association, together with two municipal power agencies that serve 32 eastern cities and 19 western cities with ownership in the power agencies.

Presently the organization has approximately a one billion dollar budget and oversight is a board of representatives of cities from the east and west. The composition of the board at present time is: five town managers, one former manager, two utility managers and one utility director, two former mayors, two current mayors, one council member. The Board is paid a salary of $1,000 per month for 12 months for a term of three years.

In June, ElectriCities announced a 14% rate increase for the eastern power agency, even though the CEO was aware of problems that would affect rates in October 2007 and the Board in March 2008. The result is most cities will have to pass the rate to their customers, adding another burden to a declining economy and rising costs. At least 2% of the increase is due to a refinance of the agency's $3 billion debt in the variable bond market where the interest rate soared, costing $12 million in interest. The decision and then the delay in revealing the problem means citizens got one month notice to adjust personal and business budgets to a much higher electric rate, most in cities where the electric rates are already much higher than those of competitors.

Citizens and businesses are uniting across the cities to encourage City and Town Councils to ask questions now and regularly about ElectriCities management based on reports of excessive salaries, double digit salary increases, more than 30 staff members earning more than $100,000, excessive staff turnover in some divisions, multiple legal settlements with former staff, pending federal legal claims against current staff, the refinancing error, excessive spending for events and travel, many out of state.

Further we will encourage City and Town Councils to inquire as to details of these issues and demand ElectriCities do its part, via resolution, to help soaring energy costs that are burdening citizens by making operational cuts as many cities have been forced to do. Further, we will encourage City Councils to meet with Board Members and Power Agency Commissioners on these matters to monitor actions and results on a monthly basis and publicly provide reports. Further, we encourage City Councils to evaluate their representative on the power agency board of commissioners to ensure a strong understanding of the issues and demand monthly reports on ElectriCities and power agency activities and budget and to provide that information to the public.

Suggested cuts in ElectriCities include:

$168,000 per year for Board member Salaries

Reduction in CEO salary to $250,000, a savings of $200,000 and termination of current contract for the CEO amid mismanagement, misallocation of funds for staff salary increases.

Elimination of its out of state Myrtle Beach Party, a savings of more than $100,000 plus the additional costs cities incur for travel, meals and lodging.

Elimination of staff retreats, out of state travel, savings of more than $200,000

Elimination of positions in senior management and salary adjustments eliminating double digit salary increases over the past five years, savings of more than $2 million

Elimination of contract lobbyists and excessive staff lobbyists based on excessive turnover (80%), savings of $500,000

Restrict the legal budget expenses to $150,000, savings of more than $400,000

Hiring freeze

Restriction of salary adjustments to 2% for the lowest paid employees only.

Elimination of bonuses.

Streamlining functions within ElectriCities to achieve elimination of positions.

Further we recommend these cost savings be immediately undertaken, effective September 1 and applied to costs associated with the rate increase so that the reductions have an immediate reduction effect on rates.

We are citizens and businesses representing the cities and we are demanding change, accountability, and excellent leadership that includes innovative solutions to soaring energy costs.

###

My comments can be found @ http://www.triadblogs.com/curmilus/ElectriCities/

Definite issues that need to be addressed. Other cities are definitely involved. I used to live in Wilson and am in move process to Tarboro. I work two days a week in east Raleigh and the rest of the time travel east. There is talk about this issue in four or five cities.