Submitted article
After viewing the Mayor’s January 26th Press Conference on Livestream Galion, we would like to make an ‘official’ response.
By now most people in the Galion area have heard of the disagreement between a group of “concerned citizens” and the current administration of our City government. Based on financial information received from the City, our group believes that City electric customers were overcharged as much as $ 4 million during the four years from 2009-2012 and that those overcharges should be refunded to the electric customers who paid them.
Initially, the City administration responded that electric customers were not overcharged. Then the City administration responded that electric customers were undercharged $ 3.1 million. And most recently, as of the press conference, the City administration now states that electric customers were overcharged, but only $ 231,000 and only for just 2007.
But what does the City’s Electric Fund itself tell us? The Electric Fund increased nearly $ 4 million in those four years. And this City administration does not deny that the Electric Fund grew to have an “excess” balance, reaching as high as $ 7.9 million when the electric rates were designed to maintain just a $ 3.5 million balance.
But our City government should only charge its electric customers according to its Electric Rate Ordinance (Ordinance No. 2005-37); and this Ordinance does not give the City the authority to arbitrarily set the power cost adjustment (PCA). The main issue involved with the electric rate controversy is the PCA, which should fluctuate both up and down based on the City’s actual cost of power. In 2009, the City’s electric consultants (Sawvel and Associates) told the City to ‘ramp up’ the PCA to .019 but the City went even further and put in a PCA charge of .02 (2 cents) per kilowatt for all electric customers; and the PCA has remained at .02 ever since September 2009. City electric customers can dig out their old utility bills and see for themselves — prior to September 2009 the PCA was adjusted somewhat but for the last 5 ½ years it has remained at the ‘ramped up’ rate of .02.
Our group has submitted multiple requests for public records, and our analyses are based on those City financial records, including the City’s monthly AMP Power Invoices, that we have received. Although, Utility Committee Chairman Richart and City Auditor Treisch publicly state that the power cost adjustment (PCA) calculations ‘were done’ and that the Ordinance ‘was followed’, no such documentation has ever been produced by the City despite numerous public records requests for it. In fact, assuming Law Director Palmer did the due diligence required of one in his position of trust, Law Director Palmer’s written response to John Smella confirmed that there is no record of any PCA calculation whatsoever during the contested years. At this point, the only documentation known to be in the possession of City government from those years regarding the PCA is the 2008 instruction from Sawvel and Associates instructing the City to ‘ramp up the PCA.’ A word of caution — the power to set the PCA value arbitrarily is the power to tax without the consent of the people.
Our group stands behind our calculations. The undeniable fact is that the Electric Fund grew in excess of nearly $ 4 million during the four years of 2009 through 2012. Very simply, electric customers were overcharged, and we believe that electric customers who were overcharged are due a refund. But our group is just a small group of concerned citizens who are consumer advocates and believe in holding our City government accountable, and we need the help and support of the public to get this electric refund check issue on the November ballot. The ballot issue for refunding the $ 4 million would put refund checks in the hands of every electric customer who was overcharged – large power customers and business customers and residential electric customers
Our next meeting is March 3rd (Tuesday) at 6:00 PM at the Galion Public Library, downstairs in the Community Room. We will have a brief presentation to continue to inform the public on this complex issue, and we will have some new, updated information to better explain this PCA and overcharging issue. Lastly, we will discuss beginning the work to plan for the ballot initiative. City electric customers are urged to attend.
John S. Smella
Donald P. Faulds
E. Roberta Wade