Saturday, June 11, 2011

Lisa Maxwell and Lake Worth Utilities

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Lake Worth Utilities
One of our most valuable assets

Lisa Maxwell has a campaign video out on Lake Worth Utilities. It is convincing for those unfamiliar with the facts. All that we as consumers understand is that electric is expensive and something must be done about it. Lisa's solution is to get rid of the Utility. Just sell the darn thing...out of sight, out of mind, let someone else deal with it.

That's the trouble with most politicians--they say what they think you want to hear without telling you everything or they are not up to snuff on the facts. Jeff Clemens as Mayor was a master of that. His solution to everything was to sell it or lease it to a developer or give it away to the County. He never considered good management and informed decisions were the keys to our success. Lisa seems to want to emulate him.

A few bring up selling our Utility every decade or so. This is one of our most valuable assets. Several years back it was called "Lakeworthless Utilities" because the power went out at the drop of a hat. No more. Right now, we are paying for an electrical utility upgrade as well as our Reverse Osmosis plant, both included in a $66 million bond. Infrastructure always has to be upgraded and maintained, something that the City has neglected in the past. While this is being done, we have to pay for it. We are of a dozen or so cities that has its own generation in Florida.
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Lisa Maxwell says, "A lot of people believe that we produce our own electricity and that's not the case. We have a distribution network and that's about it."
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But, she is WRONG.

We have three generators that produce power 10% of the time. We supply our base load from Stanton (Orlando Coal units) and St. Lucie (nuclear). We do produce electricity but our native or base load comes from outside sources which is perfectly normal for any municipality with electric generation assets. WE CAN'T generate more electricity because of the contract with FMPA. They alone can dispatch our generation.

We voted to get out of this contract because our electric rates are so high, and we will be contracting with new sources for an additional 10 – 20 megawatts to meet base load requirements. Our last day with FMPA will be around December 31, 2013 and all our new power contracts will be in effect by then. Also, the present commission just voted to reduce our rates as it has been listening to resident concerns. The Utility contracted with a professional who in turn conducted a Study that determined where we could reduce and lower rates in this upcoming budget cycle. Professionally conducted studies are something else this candidate has criticized. In the past, the city has gotten into very bad deals and contracts by NOT conducting studies thus making bad decisions that have produced disastrous results.

Lisa Maxwell's friend, Commissioner Scott Maxwell, was the one who made the motion to adopt the resolution to approve of the contract with FMPA on June 18, 2002. The mindset then was to have someone else take care of it, the easy way out. As it turned out, it became expensive. This was under the Rodney Romano regime, the start of many bad decisions for Lake Worth. The Contract was signed by Romano, Bo Allen, Mac McKinnon, Joe Egly and Maxwell. For $10 dollars, we assigned over all of our exclusive rights on our property through the term of the lease with FMPA.

As the former Electric Utility Task Force Chair said, “The new generation deal proposed by FMPA that was to be executed in 2010, was recommended by the city manager Paul Boyer, previous utility directors, previous engineering service manager, plant manager, bond counsel mayor, commissioner Vespo and other; was a rotten deal that would have put the city into an extended hardship under the burden of very high utility rates and no hope of relief for a half century." He further stated, that the city was "grossly misinformed about FMPA and our electric utility by the previous utility directors, previous engineering services manager, bond counsel, plant manager and others." Our 2010 commission voted not to renew with FMPA All Requirements. They were looking out for you.

Candidate for Mayor, Lisa Maxwell, wants to consider selling our Utility, the asset that has been keeping this city afloat-- one of the advantages of having our own utility. Without it, we might have had to file bankruptcy years ago. Once we get out of FMPA, we will have more control and flexibility over rates and we will be able to generate some of our own electricity and have our own system just the way we want with solar and other green alternatives. Commissioner Jo-Ann Golden was a leader in this decision. Lisa needs to understand that 1) we do not have a buyer for our Utility and perhaps no one would want to buy it 2) not everyone in the City wants to sell it or give away any of our assets and 3) it needs a vote of the people.

Lisa Maxwell, wants to consider selling our Utility, our multi-million dollar asset and an asset through good management, will be even more of a unique benefit to all of the residents of Lake Worth and its customers once we exit FMPA.

11 comments:

  1. Clemens made us lose the Lake Worth Fire department and the Lake Worth Police Department, components that make up a City and at Charter time, because could not manage the responsibility of making it function effectively.

    Jeff Clemens cost the City many millions in eliminating responsibility of the job of Mayor with 17 Departments, to oversee, gave away City properties at bargain basement prices, replaced for millions! Only a bum would do that.

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  2. Lynn, Lynn,Lynn..... No truer words were ever put to keyboard. The idea to sell our biggest asset save the beach (pun intended) is shortsighted at best.

    I agree wholeheartedly with you on this one.

    Both Maxwell and Ramiccio have stated they want to sell it. They both need to pull their heads out of a dark place and investigate how the electric utility can be a huge draw to Lake Worth if properly run.

    Maxwell is supposed to be pro business. How does this jive with that philosophy? I was hoping she'd differentiate herself from Ramiccio on this issue. Seems like either one will go down the same road.

    Time to support Cory.

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  3. Cary's not running. The vote goes to Waterman.

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  4. Another Maxwell who is uninformed on the dais. I don't think so. We deserve better.

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  5. RAMMICIO, WHILE SOILING OUR PUBLIC OFFICE SEATS WITH 4 YEAR USELESS TENURE, INITIATED THE FREE SEWAGE TREATMENT, TOILET WATER AND RECYCLING OF INDUSTRIAL AFFLUENT,BY LAKE WORTH WHILE WE PAID THE SALARIES OF OUR EMPLOYEES DOING THE WORK FOR 4 YEARS$4,000,000, LOSS TO OUR GENERAL FUND.
    HE MUSTN'T EVEN MANAGE OUR SEWAGE TREATMENT DEPARTMENT!DO I SMELL BROWN PAPER BAGS FOR NOT CHARGING????

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  6. Scott maxwell was known for never reading the packet prior to meeting in 2001.He made the motion to strangle Lake Worth Citizens with the most expensive electricity source Purchase Contract,with FMPA with many false promises with Romano!!!Nice Scottie!!!His unrelated remarks to the agenda are usually hostile to the new City manager, with 18 years of Town management experience,
    knowledge. This nice Maxwell,not the rude Broward County Builders' lobbyist Lisa, does not have any City management experience with 17 Departments to oversee.
    He should stop the negative, uselss,neighborhood pandering attacks,and instead come up with positive proposals which will increase our revenues,bring industry and jobs, and a solution for the property values crash, and thousands of vacancies, due to over development!There are solutions for them!
    It is unworthy of him,.If you get to know him ,you'll find him to be a nice, simple American man, in much pain from a back injury!Is his medication making him coockoo?

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  7. Tom Ramissio wansts to do the same thing. From his web site.
    Consider all options to decrease high utility costs including selling our power to Florida Power & Light

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  8. The utility company is our greatest asset. It allows the city to rape it's citizens and businesses each month with some of the highest rates in the State. That's how it makes money for the city. It takes the money from all of us each month, treats us like dirt and has the ability to raise rates at any time without any approval from the state. Sure it's a gold mine but we the people are getting screwed by this gold mine. If you had the choice to buy power from the city or FPL who would you buy it from?

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  9. Sorry. We know that we are paying the highest commercial rates but residential rates are right in the middle. Once we get out of FMPA, things will be different.

    You are a little emotional, aren't you? You must be one of those people who was holding a PBSO sign.

    Ask your past elected friends why they didn't take care of our Utility. Ask them why they never took care of anything. They are to blame if any rape has been felt by you.

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  10. GEEEZ Lynn. Why don't you run a benner on how the commission got the PBSO issue wrong. See, I agree with you on the utility issue and you came back with a crack like that.

    So your BCME was finally able to negotiate a contract that didn't end up in us getting sued. AND it actually benefits us to keep PBSO!

    Better equipped, more training, safer for both residents and our deputies.

    It remains to be seen if jumping out of the FMPA frying pan will put us in a better situation. Have you heard any positives?

    I still think the positive potential of owning our own utility, if capitalized on, could make Lake Worth stand out positively not only in PB County, but in the State. We'll see...

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  11. GEEEZ Anonymous. I have written enough by now to get my point across on the PBSO. The only thing that the Commission got wrong on this is that they did not go back to having their own police department. Instead, they caved in to politics...a big mistake. You will see this in 2 more years. Unless, of course, the economy gets out of the downward spiral and people actually have jobs and can buy houses and contribute to the tax base, etc. They never should have done what they did to begin with--sell our city down the tubes. Policing is reactive.

    What is BCME? Susan Stanton IS the best we have had since I have been involved in politics in our city. It takes a strong leader to turn around all of these problems and consequently, some people don't like their little toes beings stepped on.

    Yes, we get sued a lot. People sue. It is a a sign of the times. Ramiccio sues. Sometimes suits are just plain extortion or slap suits or other means for some one to get the last word. We just won a few with the Employees Union--does that count? Does anything we do right, count?

    As far as FMPA goes, when you produce generation and have to sel it back to FMPA and then they sell it back to us at triple the price, then there must be a positive or two in there.

    The postivie of anything is being our own boss whether that is our electric rate, our police department, our fire department, what have you. I am not a real strong believer in outsourcing. It really depends on whether or not it will save us money. Right now, employee benefits are killing us.

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