By ANITA SCHWENDT
Los Alamos

Never in my life did I ever think I would care about a county’s utilities charter.

But I’ve started to pay attention to the issue now that there’s a question on the ballot about how the utilities department should operate within county government. I’ve realized that citizens have very little ability to impact our utilities based on how the operation is currently structured.

To me, it comes down to this: You can chose to listen to the folks sending in letters against the proposed changes, most of whom are former utility board members. (To me, those letters seem fear-based.) Or you can chose to support the changes proposed by the two charter review committees made up of many reasonable, intelligent citizens that rigorously analyzed the charter with an eye toward what makes sense for the average citizen. 

If you are interested in learning more about the proposed changes but are like me, too busy to delve into these topics, I recommend reading the flyer you received in the mail that summarizes the charter ballot questions. I believe you will find that the proposed changes are reasonable, necessary, and calculated.