Opinion : Letter to the Editor: The electric utility’s $8M cash reserve

A municipal utility board is arguably the most powerful city board under Iowa law. The power comes from:

1. Board members are appointed not elected

2. They serve long terms - 6 years

3. There is no regulatory oversight as there is for power companies

4. The only way to remove a member is by order of a community's mayor

5. They have the power to use money in almost any manner as long as they deem it to be in the public interest

From the 2018 Audit, the unrestricted cash at VMEU was $8,269,000, or about $3,758 per electric meter in Vinton.

Other things you might like to consider:

1. The utility's operating profit for 2018 was $592,000, or $269 per meter; more than a typical household's electric bill for a month

2. Based on 2018, the utility could operate on unrestricted cash reserves for 2.2 years without sending a bill

3. The cash reserve has come from all households and businesses, but most of it has come from its biggest customers. The largest customers are the hospital and the school. Vinton residents have paid once through their electric bill, and again as property taxpayers.

4. The decisions of the utility board also impact all district residents, and affect the money available to educate students.

At the council meeting last Thursday, Mike Elwick said, "..we don't make a lot of money on the electric utility." You can decide for yourself if that is accurate.

Kurt Karr