By MORRIS B. PONGRATZI would like to lend my voice to that of Anthony Amsden, John Arrowsmith, Robert Gibson, Wayne Hardie, Kevin Holsapple, Lawry Mann, Ken Milder, Gil Miranda, Chris Ortega, Felicia Orth, Ralph Phelps, Khal Spencer and others who have urged defeat of Charter Amendment #2.
I served on the 2009 Charter Review committee. In that committee former Utility Board member, Harry Ettinger, and I (a six-term member of the County Council) were asked to review the 1968 charter section on utilities and make any recommendations to the full committee.
Quoting from our July 25, 2010 report to the full committee “This report considered comments from 7 former members of the Utility Board, 2 former Utility managers, 3 former County Administrators, 1 former County Attorney, 3 County Councilors who had never served on the Utility Board, and 4 County Councilors who had previously served on the Utilities Board”. The report “recommended that the existing independence of the Utility Board (in the existing charter) should be maintained.”
Apparently we brought the wrong “rock” and ensuing developments led to Charter Amendment #2. I have two specific objections to the proposed amendment. First, it allows the council to remove Utility Board members without specifying a “cause” for the removal. Note that there are five members on the Utility Board and just one “wacko” member would be outvoted by the other four members without affecting board policy. In fact the council would have to (and could) remove three of the Utility Board members and appoint new members that would obey their political demands.
Second, quoting Anthony Amsden, “Mr. Arrowsmith … is basing his recommendations on possible future misappropriation of Los Alamos utility funds as well as the track record of other New Mexico cities, such as Santa Fe and Farmington, whose councils have dipped into utility revenues to balance their budgets.” During my six terms on the County Council most of our disagreements with the Utility Board involved our desire to get more ratepayer money transferred to the council’s General Fund.
Recent changes to the Initiative, Recall and Referendum sections of the charter have raised the threshold for citizen control of council actions. Charter Amendment #2 would give the council even more unrestrained power. Please vote “No” on Charter Amendment #2!
