When did our light at Templeton Municipal Light started to dim?

Long ago I was told by those that know of Templeton. Light and Water had a true commission and were on top of the issues and actions at that time. The names Dembeck,Kwasny, were said to be “no nonsense people” They were the checks and balance that we now lack at light and water. When that generation faded out is when the dimming started at the Light and Water. As they evolved into what now is a combined light and water, control has been changed to a commission that is a part of l+w and just a rubber stamp of the general manager and has been that way ever since .Laws of open meeting, violated and many issues were swept under the surface and always the attention put on the power being on and not losing it in storms. Quick to compare with others that did a lesser service and had a poorer response than them. Treatment of other commissioner’s questions put aside and ignored, like the audit for the multimillion dollar wind turbine, still incomplete. When we all suffered during the big ice storm in 2008, we all went into the dark .It took several days and millions to restore it. That storm did a great job of thinning the forest and of week and old trees and wires/poles that were a problem or soon to be one. Thank you Mother Nature and Templeton light workers, kudos to you and your efforts. Templeton appreciates all you do. This petition is not about you or your performance.

When the light started to dim the main change was the manager and his way to manipulate a departments resources to gain a department so to have more control over Templeton to expand his responsibilities and also promote a top heavy management at light and water that can’t  be sustained with the way things are now or were then. Previous management raises and pensions speak to the fact that is what you see now. When the light started to dim at light the debt started to grow and will never be paid off. The debt for water department is staggering and the amount to sustain /maintain is not any  amount Templeton can take on, were at our debt limit now or have been. Rates are a function of the commission and were not a issue as time went on, they increased and the budgets expanded to include power production to include the mega loans we are also stuck with .Wind is the most expensive and problematic of any power there is to produce. Why are we into it up to our wallets and soon to be further in debt for it is the lack of a functioning commission .The check and balance light went out completely when the 4.00 minimum was expanded in 2009 to include all ratepayers and increased the income by 168,000.00 ,48.00 per meter per year. Gee thanks for allowing me to be a customer of my town owned light department .When asked about the 4.00 at a commission meeting I was told it was a minimum charge, then it’s a for overhead ultimately explained it for the billing we send out /sublet our billing. Clearly the issue was something they didn’t want to talk about and gave obtuse answers to us when we ask; it took 3 meetings to get to the truth about the cost to now be a customer. A very negative attitude was taken by the chairman and the commission because of the questions being asked and when a video recorder was brought in the next meeting they were more than willing to cooperate with us and answer special questions. They finally showed us the respect they should have shown from the start. Answers were forth coming and with some detail, had to be thought up and manipulated to line up with the previous answers. The general manager has an issue with people asking questions and will give deliberately obtuse answers more then I think we realize. When we started to follow the light and were asking about the pilot payment Templeton receives we were all  threatened with higher rates and told it’s lucky the town gets what they do. When we asked how the amount they give is figured, we were told the general has a formula in the desk .As I and others with a bigger calculator checked the facts come out at the light department  Templeton is in the dim. Templeton was in the dim and getting the answers to our questions was getting answered by people with no stake in this. Yes there is a formula but not the one they used.  When the D.O.R. report was also shown the dim path Templeton was again put in the dark as we look back now the light was not in favor of the dor report and also the general manager then had to answer to the BOS chairman the main reason for the DOR report was not even discussed and the reps sent were insulted and sent away. Templeton should have seen the light for what it was, we didn’t then and now were stuck with a ballooning debt, unsustainable water budget and a commission with an attitude that Templeton’s problems have nothing to do with them. If you ran the town like a business like L+W you wouldn’t have the problems you have. As we now know when it started to dim was around 2000. When the water takeover happened and Templeton was sleeping she was being taken advantage of by a few who stood to gain the most.  People in position with the ability to cover the tracks and stonewall good selectmen that dare ask questions were silenced and belittled by the majority votes and the attitude of the chairman of both BOS , L+W are from the same mold . It’s time for Templeton to break the hold and also the mold, put the lights back on in Templeton for the Templeton future.

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Dave Smart