Home of Today's Common Sense

Submitted 3/29 for publication on 4/3
The March 27, “My Turn” column, submitted by PUB Chairman Oscar E. Garcia, at first seemed to be an around the corner jab at the recent PUB Board appointees; instructing that they should be nice little boys and keep the dirty laundry in-house. But when I looked closer, I noticed what would appear to be a major change in policy and some outright self serving spin.
In the second paragraph, Mr. Garcia points out the common purpose – “to provide customer/owners with reliable utility services at the lowest reasonable rates consistent with good sound business practices.” If this is true it is a change from the previous position of reliable utilities at competitive rates. There is a big difference!
The piece then goes on ad-nauseum lecturing as to the responsibilities of the trustees. I didn’t see, what, to me, is one of the primary responsibilities until paragraph seven, and it seems to be down played “ The board member also serves as a representative of the BPUB customers. Members represent the owners of the utility and act on their behalf to protect and maximize the value of the asset.”
We must remember that the rate payers not the city government are the owners. The civic leaders are supposed to act in the best interests of the “folks”.
Of late, some new members were appointed to the board and appear to have taken the primary responsibility to heart.
I have to take into consideration that this is an election season and that politicians occasionally do things that will help their own candidacy or that of their friends. The specific appointees may well have been selected for their aggressiveness in addressing problem areas.
Fur is flying and allegations are circulating; both of the alternative internet news sources are wading in with both feet. The platform for those that “tilt at windmills” recently published excerpts from auditing notes and accounting records that look particularly damning.
As an “owner” I am incensed that the rancor had to develop to such a point without any remedial action being taken. Would it not have been a wiser practice to identify what is really wrong, explain any mitigating circumstances, and fix the problems. A “News Release” saying we have a problem and this is how we are fixing it would have made the issue a lead balloon. Instead personalities have become the issue and the problem still is out there. At this point, I would feel hard put to allow faith in any of the incumbents. Until a CFO is found, I would suggest that an intermediary one be recruited for six months, specifically to correct existing financial control issues and report on them to the public, in clear language that real people can understand. Kind of novel – to let the owners know what is going on!
I would also like to see that the operational systems be examined and a quality control reporting system such as that described in industry standard ISO 9002 be implemented.
Lastly, it also incenses me that our rates are raised to fund an additional $8 million per year to give to the city politicians. If the goal was the lowest rates then this additional ‘sales tax’ on utilities should be rebated to the “owners” or even used as a way of helping the poor elderly pay their utility bills.
In my columns I use the same information that is available to everyone and draw a perspective as to what it means in real life. What I see here is the worst of our system of governance and every day it continues, still useing more of our tax money to fix the misadventures there by reducing the available money fountain for things we really need.
I really don’t care who is right or wrong. I want the problem fixed and be convinced that there is a system (not a goal or a document) in place that will identify the existence of problems in such a way they cannot be put on the back burner to become more smelly.