>>Valley Patriot>> |
There is another way, a way that will bring the city about $1 million annually, a way that at the same time will save every household in Haverhill about $100 every year. If you use more, like the residents of the all electric 180 Water St. and Merrivista dwellings do, then you’ll save more. It’s a way that the city council already approved. I ran out of time to make it happen in 2001, but it seems no mayor since has been interested. To understand it, take out your electric bill. It’s divided into two sections, “Delivery Services” and “Supplier Services.” Delivery pertains to the wires, the poles, conservation measures, etc., that are the sole business of the electric company. Supplier pertains to what the electric company charges you for the power it buys and then resells to you. Just last month, the supplier rate went up. As of March 1st, it’s no longer regulated by the state; it will change every 3 months according to the whim and will of the electric company. In short, every household budget will now be impacted by at least a 7% increase this coming year. Instead of your bill going up, it could go down. How? If the city was to pool all its businesses and residents into one account and buy the power for them wholesale, it could save a bundle! Then it could sell the power to the same accounts at a real discount. The city is already doing this for itself. Right now, it pays less than 6 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh) for the same electricity that costs you over 7 cents/kwh. So far, it’s keeping the savings for itself, but with not much trouble it could extend them to you. Think of it, each household saving money because the city got creative! Think of how attractive this might be to draw in new businesses and support those already here. So how could the city make money? For every 7 cents/kwh that the electric company charges you for power, it keeps about 1/2 cent to pay itself for collecting your money and to create a pool of money to cover the costs of unpaid bills. If the city sold you power at a discount, it could do the same. That would yield about $1.5 million annually! A portion would go to cover the city’s costs, but the city could net about $1 million per year. At a time when we
hear of higher fees for every city service, sky-rocketing
water and sewer rates and rising taxes, wouldn’t it
be nice for the city to make money by the same program
that saves you about $100 per year? Why not do it? By the
way, since there will be three years before the city
needs to begin paying for the HHS fix-up, this program
could yield a $3 million dollar reserve fund by 2008. So
let’s not hear any more about an override until we’ve
truly considered this. *Send your questions
comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com |
In just four years, the city will begin
paying about one million dollars per year to cover its
share of the costs of fixing the high school. Right now,
no one seems to have a clue as to how we’re going to
do it. All we hear about are deficits and more deficits.
Then we get windfalls and pass the crisis. The only
serious proposal so far came from Council President
Michitson; he wants to earmark the $3.4 million from the
Orsteen land sale for the HHS fix-up. The mayor’s
already found ways to spend it, though.