News : iVinton.com now available for community information

iVinton campaign reminder

The local residents working to pass an initiative allowing the creation of a local telecommunications utility now have a website online for fellow community members. The site www.iVinton.com includes basic information about the upcoming vote and opportunities for community members to submit questions, volunteer to help with the election, and take advantage of other opportunities to be more informed of the issues.

The iVinton group members especially want community members to know that a 'Yes' vote won’t automatically lead to the construction of a local network. There would still be many questions to answer and many hurdles to overcome. A majority voting ‘Yes’ will only empower an authorized utility to formally study the desirability of a local service like the one operating for the past ten years in Independence.

Below are some of the frequently asked questions we’ve encountered. Visit the iVinton.com website to ask your own.

Q: What will voting YES do?

A: It will mean the city of Vinton will have the legal ability to create a Local Telecommunications Utility. This Utility will have the ability to explore options for Vinton’s telecommunications future.

Q: Why is this important for Vinton’s future?

A: We need to make Vinton more attractive to families considering a move to our community, and businesses wanting to grow in Vinton. Better telecommunications services are also part of what our current businesses need to thrive.

Q: Are population growth and attracting new businesses the only reasons to vote Yes?

A: There are many reasons you would want to vote Yes, including those listed above. Many people are experiencing slow service response times, service outages, and are frustrated as they try to resolve problems over automated phone systems, or through giant call centers that are sometimes located in another country.

Q: Are there future benefits beyond economic development?

A: Advanced telecommunications infrastructure can be harnessed for a variety of cost savings. Using “Smartgrid” technology, advanced infrastructure could eventually result in lower energy costs and lower labor costs for maintaining electric and telecom distribution systems.

Q: Will our taxes go up with this vote?

A: No. This is not a vote to construct a network or levy any tax. It is a vote to establish a telecommunications utility.

Q: How much will the monthly service be?

A: We don’t know because the City has never been given the approval by voters to consider the issue.

Q: What products will be offered?

A: That’s what we want a Telecommunications Utility to determine. Other communities offering local internet services include cable TV, high speed fiber optic internet service, and land line phones. Again, we are asking you to vote YES so we can determine the answers.

Q: Why not do an engineering study first to answer some of the questions and have the vote after we know more facts?

A: It seems unnecessary to do an engineering study if the community isn’t interested in having local control and local service by its own telecommunications utility.

Q: What makes you think Vinton could manage a telecommunications service?

A: A lot of communities in Iowa already have their own successful telecommunications service with very satisfied customers.

Q. What are the actual ballot questions?

SHALL THE FOLLOWING PUBLIC MEASURE BE ADOPTED?

Yes No

Shall the City of Vinton, in the County of Benton, State of Iowa, be authorized to establish a Municipally-Owned cable communications or television system (including video, voice, telephone, data and all other forms of telecommunications and cable communications) Utility?

SHALL THE FOLLOWING PUBLIC MEASURE BE ADOPTED?

Yes No

Shall the management and control of the Municipally-Owned cable communications or television system (including video, voice, telephone, data and all other forms of communications and cable communications) be placed in the Board of Trustees of the Vinton Municipal Utilities consisting of five trustees who serve as the Board of Trustees for the municipal telecommunications utility for the City of Vinton?

Q: What happens if we vote for the telecommunications utility but not to put it under the management of Vinton Municipal Utilities?

A: The Council would appoint board members to manage the telecommunications utility.

Q: What should we tell friends and neighbors who are on the fence?

A: Who doesn’t want to have more options, more choices, and more opportunities for Vinton?