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Published – Brownsvile Herald December11,2005
The election is over and the comparatively large voter interest, for an election with no candidates, that has been engendered by the confabulation and rumor in the community, over the Public Utilities Board has demonstrated to me that the numbers of informed citizens who care, are growing and becoming more active.
Unfortunately, however you voted, much of the problem is still there; the “city rulers” are essentially still in control of PUB and have the opportunity to use that power to further personal agendas rather than act in the best interests of “Us Folks”.
In the final days of the voting period a “gang of five” also know as “Citizens for Continued Growth” published a not so accurate 1/3rd page advertisement (not cheap) in the Brownsville Herald describing the impact fee as a tax.
As I understand it an impact fee is just that, a fee to reimburse PUB and help finance the costs of additional infrastructure and other expenses needed to provide the additional service required by the new home. Since PUB is city owned, one could consider it a tax; in that context all utility charges would be considered local taxes. I wonder if IRS would also consider them taxes if they were deducted on my tax return!
What is a tax is the $8 million or so in cash and services that PUB provided its city benefactors. Since we the people are paying for them; that is indeed a tax.

In the case of the impact fee whether or not it is a tax, it is a cost of preparing a new home for sale, “the gang of three” Mr. Ahumada, Mr. Sanchez and Mr. Valadez assert that it is going directly into the developers pockets which may or may not be true; I guess that depends on whether you can believe that the “gang of five” will pass the savings on to us. Perhaps they could just itemize it on the purchase closing statement as just what it is, a “Utility Connect Fee”, which would be amortized for as long as the home stands and paid for at a monthly rate of $5.83 over the period of a 30 year mortgage and keep the sales price the same.
I somehow wonder if there isn’t a more interesting motivation, perhaps even more sinister, to keep the PUB in the hands of the current city council. The issue of an impact fee does not ring true as the main reason for the costs expended in advertising by “the gang of five”.
On November 3, a group of former directors also made their opinions known and recommended a no vote on propositions 11 and 13. In the letter they made the assertion that PUB is the only publicly owned electric utility in the Valley which is not true.
Magic Valley Electric, which usually has the lowest rates in the area is also publicly owned but not by a government entity. It is a tax paying not-for-profit business owned its the customers. Other such Customer-owner Co-Ops are Nueces Electric Co-Op, and Bandera Elec Co-Op
Cooperative businesses are special because they are autonomous – tax paying businesses owned by the consumers they serve and in order for the management to keep their jobs, they are guided by principles that reflect the best interests of those consumers, not some politicos.
Most cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all people able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without concern to things like social, racial, or political discrimination.
Though it is now optional in Texas for all public utilities to de-regulate, some Co-Op utilities as well as city owned ones like PUB remain monopolies and do not permit customer choice.
To my thinking the most important issue is that cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
Every rate payer is a part owner of the utility and meets at specified times to elect directors and conduct other business.
You do not have to live in the city limits to have a say in the operation of the utility!
The issues we are experiencing here in Brownsville, just again prove to me that a government entity cannot efficiently run a business.
Business organizations run to satisfy the needs of the owners. In this case though, while we are told that the owners are the electorate, the reality is that, our political rulers, who seem to think they always know what is best for us regardless of what we say, are the de-facto owners and run the utility to satisfy their personal agendas.
So for these reasons, I would like to suggest that a city charter change be initiated by “the folks”, to take back the responsibility for this critical service from the politicos. PUB should be made responsible to us more directly as a cooperative; a voluntary organization, open to all people able to use the services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without regard to political relationship.

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