By GERALD ANTOS

Actually Mr. Birnbaum’s (letter) point is moot because at every gas and electric rate hike hearing for the last (many) years, the Utilities Department head has been quizzed about why the hikes were so high, why aren’t they doing better planning, etc.

Often hikes were returned for further consideration. Apparently this Council believes what they hear rather than delving into the issue. That does not speak well for the County in the future.

My guess is that there’s more to this than meets the eye. There are connections between rates, what utilities sends to the General Fund in lieu of taxes, what it sends to the General Fund from remaining profits, and how utilities is violating the charter by the way they determine what goes into the fund.

If you look at the charter on line, section 509 of the Utilities chapter, you’ll see the order of the budgeted items:

Look at how utilities boosts the general fund in two ways – taxes and profits. Money is fungible, especially in the hands of the government. The more they take in, the more to the general fund, in the form of taxes and profits. 

Wasn’t there a story some time ago about having to cut services, because after all it’s the quality, not the quantity, that counts? Well, numbers 4 and 6 certainly will help the poor county’s budget.  Somewhere, long ago, I quizzed the County about how the above were calculated, and got very little information. Perhaps that information is in the utilities budget for this fiscal year. It’s in the library.  There is no requirement that there have to be remaining profits, and that’s what should be addressed. The amount paid in taxes should be enough, and the County should not plan to spend remaining profits if that means an excessive rate increase.

Not to beat a dead horse, but over $100,000,000 and still counting to build new buildings, yet there’s not enough money for services so we need a utilities hike. A coincidence?