Column for May 10, 2012

I read in last week’s “The Selma News” right on the front page that former Mayor Charles Hester has publicly said that the town should not cut its electric rates and instead should take those funds and construct a building on speculation in its new industrial park.  The idea was to attract industry to come to Selma by showing that we are serious about new tenants and have a move-in ready facility.  Mr. Hester has long championed the idea of increasing the town’s tax base.  On that, he and I are in total agreement.  We just differ vastly on how to accomplish that end.

It all comes down to the idea of the proper role of government.  I am much more of a free market person, believing that if there is a place in the market for something, then business will make it happen because of the motivation of profit.  That has been the driving force behind the capitalist system for centuries and has made America the most powerful nation on earth.

I am fully in support of the current Selma Town Council and mayor lowering the electricity rates that Selma charges.  Ever since I moved to Selma ten years ago, I have lamented the high utility rates.  Towns that participate in Electricities or are “public power communities” do their communities a disservice with higher than necessary electric rates for the sole purpose of extracting more revenue from their citizens.  I wrote some time ago (June 9th of last year) about how my electricity bill that month was almost exactly $100 higher than the rate I would have been charged had I bought my electricity straight from Progress Energy.  That $100 should by all rights be considered taxation.  Since the only method of receiving revenue by a government is by extracting it from its population, then a cut in the profits from the retail sale of electricity in Selma must equate to a tax cut.  A 3.5% rate cut for individuals or a 2% cut for businesses is not a big cut, but it is a start.

The former mayor is a real estate developer, so he is going to view town progress and purpose through that lens.  I could do the same with a background in both media and safety and take a great interest in seeing those aspects of the economy take the foremost position in my thoughts.   However, it is best to take the general welfare of the town into consideration.  That means protecting citizens and businesses from undue taxation and excessive costs of doing business.

I have spoken to a good many residents and some business owners in town.  One thing that is a common thread with them all is the high utility cost burden on their budgets.  Personally, I had one of the highest utility bills ever just a month or two ago, and it was a difficult with which to cope.  I have seen businesses have to shut down parts of their buildings and totally turn off their air conditioning systems just to be able to afford the confiscatory utility bills the town charges.  I don’t care if other public power towns charge slightly more than we do.  That does not negate the fact that our rates are still far above the fair market value.  If a private utility company charges $x, then that is fair market value.  If our town charges $x + $y, then y = taxation that is above the fair market value.

I have read the town charter and even the state statutes governing towns.  I do not see anywhere the purpose of government being to engage in speculative real estate development at the expense of the town’s captive utility customers or even property tax payers.  It is the purpose of government, however, to attempt to create an environment in which a capitalist economy can thrive.  Low utility costs, low taxes, good infrastructure, and less government regulation will do more to bring in business and residents than any edifice built for real estate speculation.   When the town brought Sysco to town, Selma was not sufficiently attractive enough to bring its vice president or employees to town as promised.  Why would anyone think that having a building that may or may not be sufficient for a potential industrial tenant would do any better?

To keep high utility taxation high or even borrowing to dabble in real estate speculation will not be the key to our future.  This was understood by James Madison when he wrote to Thomas Jefferson on February 4, 1790.  "All that seems indispensible in stating the account between the dead and the living, is to see that the debts against the latter do not exceed the advances made by the former."  Madison understood the purpose of government.  Keeping excessive burdens of taxation via utility costs for us now or in the future is not it.

Column for June 9, 2011

I don’t want to pay your electricity bill. I am sure that you don’t want to pay mine, either. In Selma, our electricity bills contain a lot of taxes. Anything above what we would normally pay by purchasing electricity through Progress Energy is in effect, a tax. The rate we are charged per kilowatt hour in Selma is significantly higher than Progress Energy would normally charge residential retail customers. I have done the math. That is why I kind of like the new “prepaid electricity” concept that Selma is moving towards.

With the majority of Selma residents being renters rather than homeowners, we have a higher than average possible transient population. This can lead to people skipping out on their utility bills. To combat this, the town instituted a hefty deposit requirement for new utility customers. I understand the concept, but also know that a lot of people cannot handle the $450 or so deposit. I know that when I bought my house in town, I would not have been able to fork out for that sort of deposit after all the money I paid just to be able to move in. I realize that the town has a different policy towards actual homeowners but, I am just saying it is difficult for many.

When people leave bills hanging and a deposit does not cover the cost, we, the remaining customers and townsfolk, pay for it one way or another. That is just the simple economics of it. The same principle works for auto or health insurance and private utility companies. We all pay for claims and losses in the end.

The pay as you go principle works well for a lot of people. I have a prepaid cell phone for my wife and we are happy with it for the little bit of use it gets. We can put as much or as little money on our account as we wish, depending upon our usage and budget. For a lot of people, this may be the way to go with electricity bills.

It is bad enough that our trash collection will be going up, which shows up on our utility bills. It is good to see that at least the town is considering ways to alleviate the heavy burden of paying utility bills all at once. Quite honestly, there have been a few times where it was a struggle for us to meet the entire bill. Money is tighter than it used to be for us, but I still make a comfortable living.

If you are like me, you struggled with getting two utility bills in the same month last month. I see that the due date is now different, and I am hoping it will not be permanent. Good grief, that would throw my entire monthly budget into chaos, since for almost nine years I have been budgeting to have my utility bill paid in the middle of the month and my mortgage payment at the end of the month. I am sure that others will have the same frustration. My utility bill can run as high as $400 a month and I don’t know about you, but a $400 swing across two weeks will take some getting used to.

The beautiful part of the prepaid or pay-as-you-go plan is that people can put money on an account ahead of time and their usage draws against that account. For those who can’t afford a whopping bill, are renters, are temporary residents, or frequently delinquent in paying their bills, this may be a great solution.

I have long said that if I am willing to complain about something, I had better be equally willing to compliment. I am complimenting the Town of Selma for the innovation. I am sure that the town would get a lot more compliments from everybody if they would change the rate we are paying on our residential electrical service. The town charges about 13 cents per kilowatt hour whereas Progress Energy direct residential customers pay 9.15 (or 10.15 depending upon the season) per kilowatt hour. Multiply that times the number of kilowatt hours you use and you will be amazed at how fast those extra three or four pennies adds up. One month that made about $100 difference in my bill. That extra $100 is what should be considered extra taxation.

If the town is going to be an electric company, I applaud the effort to be more flexible for its customers. Still, it would be better if we would just get out of Electricities all together, sell off our electrical grid, and let the private sector deliver the same service for less money.

Column for Feb. 10, 2011

"Thanks to God that he gave me stubbornness when I know I am right."

- John Adams

That quote has stuck with me since I read it recently. It has been my personal conviction for years. I remember a friend of mine telling me years ago (when we were discussing matters of interpersonal organizational politics within the Church), “That is what I like about you. You can walk into a room and tell everyone that they are wrong.” When I know I am right (and when I have such a conviction, I usually am, especially on principle, even if not on the minutia of details), I am stubborn that way. It is precisely that conviction that has sustained me through over four and a half years of writing this column, my internet radio show, and more recently, my television show.

I only wrote this because it was on my mind for a couple of days now. When you know you are correct about your convictions in matters of theology, history, politics, and the affairs of life, stand by them. Be open to correction where you are askew and ready to learn, but still be resolute. OK, on to the regularly scheduled column, already in progress, with a couple of topics in mind.

It was with sadness that I read of the death of Wilson’s Mills Fire Chief, Ricky Barbour. From my friends in the fire service, I saw pictures of the honor shown him upon the return of his remains to Johnston County. I was glad to see that his brethren showed him such an honor via pictures posted on Facebook. I’ve had several occasions to talk with Chief Barbour over the years, and found him to be intelligent, articulate, resolute, and having common sense. I never worked with him or knew him well, but these were my impressions of him each time I had the pleasure of speaking with him. The comments I read on Facebook.com posted by others were a testament to his leadership. I can only hope that the Town of Wilson’s Mills will have such a class act to follow his lead.

Did you have as big a reaction as I did when you opened your most recent electricity bill from The Town of Selma as I did? When I got my most recent paycheck, I started to write out a weekly budget for how to spend my earnings, as I do every two weeks. I figured that the billing period covered may be a heavy usage month, so I thought, “I’ll budget close to the highest payment I have ever had to make for my utility bill.” I had a few choice words to say when I opened the mail and looked at the amount owed. I was on vacation and out of the country for one of the weeks covered by that bill and it was 25% higher than the highest bill I ever got from this town.

I have read in newspapers for a while that hopefully the upcoming merger between Progress Energy and Duke Energy will result in lower utility bills for their customers. I pray that is the case, because I can not afford to get many more bills like this one. I make a decent wage. I make more money now than I have ever made in my life and I still struggled to be able to budget for this huge electricity bill. When my utility bill gets to be almost as big as my mortgage payment, something is seriously wrong.

One thing that I wish would come of the utility company merger is the nullification of the Electricities contract. I wrote about a year ago about how much more I was paying through the town for electricity (who buys from Electricities, who buys from Progress Energy) than I would have if I bought directly from Progress Energy as a retail customer. I am sure that this month’s bill would be even more than that $100 differential. In all fairness, my current bill was for 36 days of service rather than just 28 or 30. Still, that is a lot with which to sandbag customers.

If the town wants to attract more businesses and residents, then they have to do something about the high utility prices. Clayton, Smithfield, Benson, and other public power communities face the exact same problem. The highest prices for public power are paid by the small town of Hobgood in Halifax County. Hobgood has fewer people than Micro but is $2.2 million in debt on its electricity system, so the residents of Hobgood pay a high utility rate. According to one newspaper report, a $139 monthly bill in Smithfield would run $185 in Hobgood. Some residents have gotten bills of up to $900. My bill wasn’t $900, but it was sure getting there. Selma is not Hobgood, but something has got to give.

Column for Jan. 20, 2011

I have a family member that lives in Greensboro and has a Howard Coble for Congress bumper sticker on her car. Since I do not live in that district, I am not all that familiar with Mr. Coble. After reading an article on “The Greensboro News & Record” web site, I know why she supports him. Howard Coble supports something that is in short supply inside the beltway of Washington, DC, common sense.

Mr. Coble supports a bill that says you should be able to use whatever kind of light bulb you prefer in your own home. You see, in 2007, Congress passed a bill that requires certain energy efficiency standards for light bulbs. I don’t know what business it is of Congress to regulate what sort of bulbs you put in your lamp next to your living room chair or in your bathroom light fixtures, since I don’t see anything in the Constitution that allows them to do that. Furthermore, it is just plain common sense to let people choose for themselves what sort of lights they want to use.

I put compact fluorescent bulbs in most of my lighting fixtures in my home. I did this to hopefully save energy and money. I bought into the hype that these bulbs were just as bright as incandescent bulbs and would use far less electricity. I got tired of some bulbs blowing out on me and constantly changing them. One lamp in particular blew bulbs constantly. A fluorescent bulb solved that particular issue.

One thing that I found out, however, is that compact fluorescent bulbs were much more expensive than incandescent bulbs. They also can blow out and fail just like incandescent bulbs. More than once I have put in a fluorescent bulb and it blew out in short order. So much for saving money there. On top of that, I found out that after a while, fluorescent bulbs tend to dim. Not too long ago, my wife remarked to me, “Is it me or is the living room darker than it used to be?” Alas, she was correct. The ceiling fan lights just are not as bright as they used to be.

I know people that have rushed to stores and stocked up a lifetime supply of incandescent bulbs just because they do not want to be forced into more expensive bulbs and they don’t want the government telling them how to illuminate their homes. I am all for saving electricity, but I am not for the government mandating how I do it. If I prefer older, more inefficient light bulbs, that is my choice. If I want to waste electricity by leaving my door left wide open so that I try to heat the great outdoors during our record “global warming” cold snaps, that is my business.

I am not convinced that this common sense repeal bill will pass through Congress and be signed by the President, however. Remember that the Senate is still controlled by people who love to control you and your actions such as Harry Reid, and that the President used to have the most liberal voting record in the Senate when he would actually cast a vote. He already wants to tell you how to conduct your health care and what volume your television can be set to, so I doubt he wants to allow you the freedom to choose the type of light bulb you want to use.

Speaking of electricity use, I see that Duke Energy and Progress Energy want to merge. The arguments so far are that there will be more efficient generation and distribution of electricity thus resulting in lower electricity bills. I am sure that every single person who is a customer of theirs and especially those who are customers of public power towns may just want a utility bill break. Towns like Selma, Smithfield, and Clayton already pay higher electricity rates than direct customers of Progress Energy, so just maybe we can enjoy a lower rate for our electricity.

I would prefer that towns get out of their arrangement through Electricities all together and sell off our local power grid to the newly organized Duke Energy, but I doubt that will happen. The power Nazis want to maintain power over the people by monopolizing local towns’ electricity distribution to extract revenue from them. The light bulb Nazis may eventually come knocking on your door if you keep using your incandescent light bulbs. I may be a compact fluorescent bulb user, but at least you can never accuse me of saying, “First they came for the incandescent bulb users, but I was not an incandescent bulb user...”

Column for April 8, 2010

"If you can find it in the Yellow Pages, government should not be doing it." I have heard that saying many times and I am very much in agreement with that sentiment. Whether it is landscaping, trash pick up, water supply, or electricity delivery, if I can find it in the Yellow Pages, then perhaps it is worth investigating termination of government services and leaving such services to the private sector. That is unless our own governmental bodies can perform such services more efficiently and cheaply than private industry can.

For instance, if Selma wants flowers planted around our downtown (oops, perhaps I should call it "Uptown", but the "rose by any other name" principle applies) and town employees can do so efficiently and cost effectively as opposed to hiring a landscape crew, then I am all for it.

However, I am not as concerned about pansies in downtown as I am about our electricity bills. Last November, one mayoral candidate ran on a platform that included lowering electricity rates in town. Though I agree with that sentiment, short of selling off the town's electricity system, laying off employees, and letting Progress Energy sell us our electricity, it ain't gonna happen. But I am all for that very idea.

I have absolutely nothing against town employees working a job they are paid to perform. This is not personal; it is a matter of efficient government and personal finance. The town electrical workers do a good job at what they do. I remember when the last hurricane hit this area several years ago and I sat under my carport when a transformer blew out just a couple of houses over. We got to watch some town electrical workers quickly and efficiently replace the dead equipment during the eye of the storm, restoring electricity within a few hours.

My wife and I stared in amazement at our latest town electricity bill. It was the highest we have ever had in over seven years of living here in the booming metropolis we call Selma. For a fairly mild month and only a 29-day billing cycle, we were stunned. So I did a little research to see if things would have been cheaper if we got our electricity directly from Progress Energy instead of the town.
I have heard for several years that our electricity rates were not appreciably higher than those of Progress Energy were. In effect, the town is a wholesale customer through Electricities. State law allows municipalities to purchase power wholesale and retail to its constituents. The town buys low and sells high. I have no problem with a business making a profit, but when a town gouges its citizens, I tend to get irate.

I went to the Progress Energy web site and downloaded the current electricity rate. They currently charge $6.75 per month base rate plus 9.557 cents per kilowatt-hour. Selma customers pay $7.50 base rate plus about 13 cents per kilowatt-hour. I did the math and that equates to approximately $100 on my bill this month. Therefore, I paid an extra $100 in TAXES this month to the Town of Selma. Yes, I said taxes, not electricity bill payments. If it is above the normal cost that I can purchase through the local power provider and the town gets the revenue, then this is a tax, not a payment for product or service.

The good thing I can say is that the town has finally dropped the line item for a fuel recovery surcharge. Basically we had an extra charge for a long time that was called a fee when it was really a rate hike without formally calling for a rate hike or having to publicize a rate hike. Whether that surcharge was dropped or the rate was changed to accommodate the increase, I don't care, as long as the bill is more honest in presentation. We do, however, continue to have a sales tax. So we pay extra on our electricity rates and then get taxed on that overage, making it even more insulting. It is a tax on a tax.

Whenever Progress Energy proposes a rate hike for residential customers, they have to get that hike approved through the state utilities regulation authorities. When they decide to hike rates on wholesale customers, such as the Town of Selma and every other Electricities member municipality, I am told that no such approval is necessary. I got that straight from a former Selma Town Manager. That means that we are subject to much more capricious energy prices than retail customers are.

I have long questioned the value of owning our own public utility. When I lived in Smithfield prior to buying my house in Selma, I was outside of their town's municipal grid and fortunately could pay lower electricity rates. Since I now live smack in the middle of Selma, I am captive to higher rates.

I firmly believe that we as a town should investigate the savings we could have by eliminating personnel costs, operations, vehicles, facilities, and the like by not owning our own public utility. I am willing to wager that we could operate the town for a year on the proceeds of a sale of the town's power grid to Progress Energy. I am all for it and my tax bill will go down $100 a month. Of course that $100 differential is not deductible on my income tax return as local taxation, but it should be.

Column for July 17, 2008

Three items that made me go "Hhhhhmmmmmmm"

As scant as the news has been here in Selma the past month or so, I still find things over which to muse right here in this very newspaper. In reading the July 10th edition, I found three stories that made me go, "Hhhhhmmmmmmm." Maybe I am just one who ponders the great mysteries of life as well as employs critical thinking. Maybe I am just a bit pessimistic. Either way, I am able to find fodder for my column.

I had originally planned to be in another town with some friends for the 4th of July celebration. Unfortunately, those plans got canceled at almost the last minute, so I came to downtown Selma to enjoy the fireworks with some family members. For a small town, Selma does put on a great fireworks display each Independence Day. I actually consider July 2nd to be Independence Day, since that is when Lee's Resolution was passed calling for said independence, but that is another discussion for another day.

My method of counting must be very different from that of event organizers. It never fails that I see far fewer people at an event than gets reported in the media. Whether it be the .5 Million Man March, a political rally, or a small town fireworks display, the quoted number of people always exceeds what is readily obvious by two to three fold. I believe that in this case, ten fold. Somewhere, the decimal point was moved when it was reported that "approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people attended throughout the evening".

Shifting gears now, I pop the clutch and roll on to our pending increase in our utility bills. I have heard from some of my readers over the past two years (I am now beginning my third year of writing this column) that they are dismayed at the high electricity bills here in Selma. I read previously that we were going to look at approximately a 12% rate increase in our utility bills. We are also getting a trash collection rate hike and a property tax hike.

It is my understanding that Selma, by nature of its association with Electricities, is a wholesale customer of Progress Energy. What that means to us as customers is that we are prone to more capricious fluctuations in the price of electricity than normal Progress Energy (I still catch myself referring to them as CP&L) customers. Retail customers of Progress Energy are protected from wide price fluctuations by the state's regulatory commission. By regulation, wholesale customers are not subject to such wild market price protections. By the time that retail customers have been even notified that the regulatory agency has approved a price hike for them, we who buy our electricity from the town's monopoly have already been socked with the increases. I got this information directly from a former Selma town manager, so I figure that the description here is accurate.

I have no problem with the town using the electrical grid in town to make money provided that there are several things that will come along with the process. First, that we as a town can use the profits derived from the sale of electricity, water, and sewer services to offset property taxation as a regular, ongoing source of revenue. State regulatory agencies have a problem with that concept, so our budget often reflects that we have a deficiency in funding, and hence the tax increase we are getting. This is not the entire reason, I am sure, but it is certainly a contributing factor. What is the sense of making a profit from a venture if you can not use the revenue as you see fit? If we are not able to use the profits to go towards our general fund, then we need to price the utility rates so that we do not have any profit at all.

For that matter, we should ponder selling our electrical system to Progress Energy and let them provide 100% of the service. That will save us the expense of the employees, vehicles, materials, and operational burdens of having such a utility department in house. If we can get the same service from a private company, then we should seriously consider it. If we can sell the entire system to the power company and make a huge profit from the sale, we can roll back some property taxes and perhaps get a lot of other items taken care of that we could not previously afford as a town. Just food for thought.

The last item that tickled my fancy was the list of some 41 items that our illustrious mayor has given as successes and failures. For almost three years, I have simply said, "Where's the list?" We heard constantly that there was a list of things that the then candidate for mayor and later mayor elect had as his goals for Selma. When the Republican Party was in its "hay day" in 1994 and were elected in landslide elections, they came up with the "Contract for America". This was a list of the things they wanted to get accomplished and pledged to work towards. They made this list readily available and we could look over the list and measure results. We have not yet had this privilege as citizens here in Selma with the promised 50 item agenda. Even with this article in the paper, we still do not have this privilege.

There are only 41 items on this list, and many of them are simply a listing of what has been accomplished, not what was on the list from three years ago. Ergo, we can not as citizens measure the results of what we were promised. Some of the items on the list were obviously not on a list of goals, since they came about long after the envisioning of the original list. A couple had nothing to do with the mayor or town council, and a few were in the works before the mayor even took office.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for listing the achievements and progress made in town. I applaud progress in areas in which progress was needed. I am sure that some of the items so enumerated in the newspaper were originally planned as part of the infamous list of 50 that we kept hearing about but were never afforded the opportunity to read. I am all for adding to a list once it has been started. I am saying that in all fairness, since we as citizens were promised progress on an undisclosed list nearly three years ago, perhaps it is time to compare and evaluate. Had the list not been heralded by the mayor, I would not be so critical in my discernment. However, a promise made that is not known as to its content has no way of standing up to scrutiny or measurement. That is the way I look at it. Since the list was again brought up in the newspaper, I find it fair to bring up a demand for a metric and disclosure of said list. That way, we as citizens can say whether or not we were wise in our choice for mayor; that we can say "well done" or "we want more accomplished" and hold elected officials accountable. We citizens are, after all, the ones that are being represented, cast the votes, and the ones who foot the bill for the town.