To: John Grubich, General manager of Okanogan County PUD #1, David Womack, PUD commisioner, Steve Hustan, PUD commisioner, and Ernie Boltz, PUD Commissioner
Okanogan PUD#1: end venture capital negotiations.
WE THE PEOPLE,
Rate-payers of the Okanogan County PUBLIC Utility District #1
and State and Federal Tax payers, demand that negotiations to borrow $102.4 million dollars from private investors stop immediately until such time as the PUBLIC has reviewed and approved private funding of public projects.
Rate-payers of the Okanogan County PUBLIC Utility District #1
and State and Federal Tax payers, demand that negotiations to borrow $102.4 million dollars from private investors stop immediately until such time as the PUBLIC has reviewed and approved private funding of public projects.
Why is this important?
A local politician once said to me that the Golden Rule is: “He who has the gold makes the rules.” The general manager, John Grubich of the Okanogan PUD #1 is negotiating, against the will of rate-payers, a $102.4 million dollar deal with a private venture capitol company to fund a series of optional “want to” projects.
What the general manager (an employee, not owner of the PUD) refuses to acknowledge is that the rate payers are the owners of the gold. This deal would give our gold to for-profit “investors” and give them the power to make the rules. Mr. Grubich and his financial adviser insist that they must raise private customer rates 26% to service this loan. The Commissioners are blocking public input and enabling the management decision.
Over-leveraged debt is what caused the 2008 financial crisis. I predict that this venture capital deal will lead to financial crisis for the rate-payers of our PUD.
This is of concern for all tax payers because one of the projects is a hydro-dam project that has a negative cost/benefit assessment. It will never produce enough electricity to pay for itself. This project, known as Enloe Dam, is in conflict with billions of state and federal tax dollars and decades of time spent on habitat restoration on our local streams and rivers.
The 1st step in our grassroots determination for fiscal sanity is to raise public awareness. Please sign our notice to the PUD that many people from across the state are paying attention. Our next step is to demand the management partner with us (honor our native and natural creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship) to create local sustainable power generation and affordable access to electric power.
What the general manager (an employee, not owner of the PUD) refuses to acknowledge is that the rate payers are the owners of the gold. This deal would give our gold to for-profit “investors” and give them the power to make the rules. Mr. Grubich and his financial adviser insist that they must raise private customer rates 26% to service this loan. The Commissioners are blocking public input and enabling the management decision.
Over-leveraged debt is what caused the 2008 financial crisis. I predict that this venture capital deal will lead to financial crisis for the rate-payers of our PUD.
This is of concern for all tax payers because one of the projects is a hydro-dam project that has a negative cost/benefit assessment. It will never produce enough electricity to pay for itself. This project, known as Enloe Dam, is in conflict with billions of state and federal tax dollars and decades of time spent on habitat restoration on our local streams and rivers.
The 1st step in our grassroots determination for fiscal sanity is to raise public awareness. Please sign our notice to the PUD that many people from across the state are paying attention. Our next step is to demand the management partner with us (honor our native and natural creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship) to create local sustainable power generation and affordable access to electric power.