Someone,
one of the anonymouses (anonymice?), left a comment on part 1 of “Shedding some
light.” I decided to follow up and watch the segment on wind
energy by Fox News. I was amazed to watch an interview with a general
manager of a municipal light plant who was very candid on television.
I
decided to check out the Princeton
Municipal Light Department website. OMG! Holy transparency in government,
Batman - there are LINKS!!! on this webpage.
It IS
possible to pay your light bill online, the same way we can pay our real estate
bills online. Wait a minute… it can’t be…the meeting minutes AND the agendas
are posted on this website for all the world to see? Have I uncovered some kind
of parallel universe, where transparency in government is the norm?
But
wait, there’s more! How about this
letter to the PMLD customers? A letter from the general manager explaining
the financial situation to the Princeton ratepayers….and it’s not good news. A
link to the audit
that will be discussed on Tuesday November 6, 2012.
Now
let’s look at the Templeton
Municipal Light and Water Department (TMLWP) website. That didn’t take very
long.
"Just
because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't
take an interest in you!"
- Pericles (430 B.C.)
My
opinions…supported by FACTS ! ! !
Julie
Farrell
Princeton would be a good model for our light dept to use to see what info to make available to the customers and how to conduct business. Plus, since they have a working relationship with them, I'm sure if they had any questions (like what service does Princeton use to accept online bill pay) it would be easy to get those questions answered.
ReplyDeletePrinceton uses Unipay. Templeton uses Unipay for real estate taxes and motor vehicle excise tax. You can pay your bills online anytime...day or night. If the tax collector is closed on Friday it's NO BIG Deal!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a commissioner, I mentioned the light and water Dept. using Unipay for those bills as well. I believe adding Unipay as an option to pay utility bills will improve customer service AND improve the cash flow to Light and Water.
The resistance to adding Unipay was/is incredible. It only took a year to convince the powers that be to outsource the billing for Light and Water. Based on this trajectory it should take about 10 years to add online bill paying to the TMLWP website.
It is all about control, even though they seem way out of control lately. If you pay your bill on line in Princeston, you save that $4.00 dollar a month charge. That is $48.00 you can put some place else. Read that letter to PMLD customers, that is a eye opener. I also found a article that explains why National Grid's rates are lower. We have invested in neuclear energy, but natural gas is cheaper, and very plentifull. So we are stuck, when big companies can be more diverse, and will be cheaper for a long time to come. The light Co, is just another mess that seems to spread like a bad virus, following the Big Kahuna from place to place! Bev.
DeleteThat sounds about right. It takes about ten years to get anything done in Templeton.
ReplyDeleteLet's cut the crap and wake up! Municipal light departments have outlived their usefulness. It was ok "back in the day", but wouldn't it make more sense for Templeton to divest itself of the light department? Take the money (maybe $5M to $10M) to reduce or get out of debt, and have National Grid pay reasonable real estate taxes( instead of being thrown scraps from Templeton Light). We would also be rid of King Driscoll.
ReplyDeleteWhadayathink?
If we end up in receivership , the state may do it for us. Light and water is the only asset we have that can be liquidated to cover our debts. Just something to think about.
ReplyDelete