Monday marked the second meeting of the City of Redding’s Privatization Evaluation Committee.
The goal of the meeting was to give members of the PEC some community feedback about the possible privatization of certain city services, including Redding Electric Utility. After listening to eight local speakers ranging from business owners to union workers to residents, the committee recognized its need for more organization.
A list of all city services will be put together by City Manager Kurt Starman, drawing on the research already done by Mary Machado of Shasta Voices. The services on the list will be ranked individually by committee members to see which would most likely be starting points for privatization, giving the committee more specifics to research for discussion.
The opinions presented by the night’s speakers were mixed. Some said there is no problem with the current services supplied by REU and see no need for change. Ray Thomas, senior business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, compared his bill from a private utility with city of Redding utility rates. According to Thomas, city of Redding rates turned out to be 45 percent less overall.
Other speakers said privatization is something that should be looked into for the possibility of generating more city revenues. Gary Gerhard, former member of the City Budget Committee and Police Facility Review Committee, it will be hard to top the revenues of 2006; allowing private ownership of REU miht help. Gerhard also said the city would be able to provide the essential services of REU more effectively through privatization. “(B)ecause of the severity of the recent budget cuts,” Gerhard reminded the audience, “you can see there are no sacred cows.”
After the speakers were through, Councilor Mary Stegall said she felt the committee was lacking structure and in serious need of organization. Councilor Patrick Jones agreed, saying he would like to hear information from those who are interested in the industry of privately owned utilities. PEC member Steve Gaines said REU is operating just fine, that is not what is being questioned, and he is looking for the numbers.
Jake Ford is a reporting intern at anewscafe.com.
