By ED BIRNBAUMKen Milder’s letter encouraging voters to vote down Question 2 on the November ballot has some incorrect and/or misleading statements regarding the revisions proposed to Article V of the Los Alamos County Charter that address the operation and oversight of the Department of Public Utilities (DPU).
Although it is true that the language in Question 2 appears to be completely new, the text of roughly half of Article V is actually not new, but rather just rearranged for clarity and to separate fundamental issues so that they are not co-mingled, as they are in the current Article V document.
More importantly, Mr. Milder suggests that under the new Charter, Council will be able to use the DPU to generate “hidden” revenue for the County, by forcing the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to raise utility rates and then transfer these funds into the County budget without any oversight. However, the dispute resolution process in the proposed Article V requires two public meetings and a 5 out of 7 vote by Council before Council can require the Board to increase utility rates, or force DPU to transfer utility funds to the County. That hardly qualifies as a “hidden” rate increase.
The attempt to engender fear in the voting public by alleging that Council will use the new Article V to raise revenue is not consistent with the kind of oversight that Los Alamos citizens traditionally provide, as former councilor Milder should know. Any councilor who tries to use the dispute resolution process, or the ability of Council to remove a Board member, without a very good reason, would be strongly opposed by the citizens of Los Alamos County, and would not be re-elected.
As a member of the Utilities Charter Review Committee, I encourage you to vote YES on Question 2 in November to ensure that Council has appropriate oversight power over Board members and the DPU. As Article V is currently structured, neither Council nor the public have the ability to remove a Board member acting inappropriately, or to ensure that actions of the Board are aligned with the interests of the citizens of the County.