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Save but pay more
We as consumers are often encouraged to save money by buying a cheaper product, or save time by buying a more efficient gadget or save lives by buckling up. Save, save, save is the American refrain, and we often comply.
Last summer we were told to save in our use of water. While some of the measures were forced upon us, we generally complied and cut our water consumption. After my hedge died, I started putting a bucket in my shower to catch the cold water until it runs hot. Then I put that water on my bushes. It all helped because city water customers have saved millions of gallons through conservation.
That’s why it’s ironic that we now have to pay more for water because saving means less water is used therefore the city earns less revenue. It’s not a big increase to most people; it’s just irritating. I think the same irony occurred several years ago when the price of electricity went up. When you’ve got a monopoly, it’s easy for a utility to make up lost revenue with a price hike.
I’ll give the city some slack since it has had the expense of tying into Wilson’s water system as a safeguard against the reservoir running dry. I know in the business world when less of your product is sold, you can’t automatically make up the lost revenue by raising prices. If you do, it is at your company’s peril. Instead, the smart business person looks at developing new products or saving here and there to bring income and expense back into line. I trust the city is doing that rather than only raising prices to make up the shortfall.
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By Ken
March 5, 2008 11:41 PM | Link to this
Hi MR. Woodin, what a timely topic: city utilities and rising water rates.
1999: we had too much water (Hurricane Floyd); 2008 too little water—drought—water conservation—voluntary cutbacks—and then WHAM !! Raising the rates we pay for water !! Nice payback.
Agree with you. It’s time for our elected officials (Rocky Mount City Council this time) to look beyond short term fixes to long term solutions to get a ‘better deal’ for the public.
I know that many low income voters/utility users are being misled as to why costs are so high—the blame game is in full swing.
Some of our council people in responding to charges that there are hidden costs in the utility program that shouldn’t be responded that if weren’t in the utility program it would have to be in property tax assessments—- how about we send city council to a governmental accounting seminar at Chapel Hill, ECU,—heck, send them to Berkley if it will help— -let’s have them understand there are other ways to reduce expenses and raise revenues other than through the utility program.
The short sightedness needs to end. Take this to the bank: while running for city council last year and looking into the utility program, I found out that the City of Rocky Mount utility program does not fall under the State Utilities Commission— THEY CAN DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO—-until the voters hold them accountable… including writing off accounts that should not be written off.
Other sources of revenue? Well, if we take a little trip out of old Rocky Mount/Mayberry NC of the 1960’s into the big cities in our state and other states, our council can find many valid methods of generating revenue for necessary items… and not on the backs of Social Security elderly folks through utility add-ons.
And again, remember Ronald Regan’s great idea of ‘privatizing’ a few government ventures? Maybe getting Rocky Mount out of Electricities is one great privatization step that needs to be taken. Take a close look and you will find that one of the major goals of Electricities is ‘influencing legislation’ through the General Assembly—- complete with payments to officials of cities/towns—-in other words, bureacratic overhead.
Getting out of Electricities? Easy, just do it. It’s in the documents—-not a major feat—-and maybe let Progress Energy compete for our customers.