By HARRY ETTINGER
Former member of the Utilities Board.
Member CRC-1

Since the Oct. 14 letter to the Los Alamos Daily Post and Monitor from Morris Pongratz mentioned my name, I feel it is appropriate to comment.

First I have already voted YES, and encourage others to vote YES.

I believe that the proposed Charter Amendment is far from perfect. I would have worded some parts differently. But it is an improvement over the existing Charter. It places ultimate responsibility and accountability, in the event of a dispute between the Council and the Utilities Board, in the hands of the Council, who are the elected representatives of the public. And the public should have ultimate responsibility.

Various letters to the Los Alamos Daily Post and Monitor, and presentations at the League of Women Voters forum, have provided extensive detailed comments, and have hypothesized different extreme actions by the Council or the Utilities Board to support their positions. These hypothesizes are highly unlikely, but are within the “possibility” envelope. Therefore it is appropriate that a revision to the Charter that is limited, restricted and establishes an open dispute resolution process be approved.

The proposed Charter changes meet these criteria.

Ultimate responsibility and accountability should be reserved for the Council, acting as the elected representatives of the public.

I am a little surprised that Mr. Pongratz’ Oct. 14 letter did not indicate that the initial report submitted by the sub-group to the Charter Review Committee (CRC-1) was clearly identified as a “4th Draft”. This draft also indicated disagreement among the individuals interviewed and a potential for conflicts if the existing Charter provisions remain in place. Therefore the authors of this CRC-1 sub-group report should expect changes when feedback from the entire CRC-1 was considered.

The final CRC-1 Report included a recommendation to provide ultimate control by the Council. It was different from what is in the proposed ordinance, but the concept of ultimate public control, via the Council, was present. Mr. Pongratz endorsed this Report, which was unanimously approved by the CRC-1. The Council wanted more thought and discussion regarding the Utilities question, hence the CRC-2, and their recommendations, which are the basis for the proposed Charter change.

We can argue about the best way to write any proposed changes, but the public vote this year should focus on who should bear ultimate responsibility and accountability. Most of the individuals objecting to the proposed Charter change, also objected to the recommendations from CRC-1.

With that perspective (responsibility and accountability) a YES vote is appropriate.