Letter to the Editor: Public utility vote – yes doesn't necessarily mean yes

(The following Letter to the Editor has been submitted by Dick Janson of Decorah):
 
"Congratulations to the City Council for their action in establishing a referendum for the people of Decorah to decide the fate of electrical service in the community.  Besides leaving such an important decision up to the people, the City Council's decision puts in motion an even more critical process, that of determining whose feasibility study provided the more accurate financial analysis -- the city's authorized study or Alliant's?

A "Yes" vote in the referendum will allow the city to examine Alliant's books.  This will permit the public to see which study was the most accurate, Alliant's or the city-authorized study funded by Decorah Power.

How exactly will that work?  If the majority of voters cast their votes in favor of a municipal utility, that will allow the City of Decorah to develop an application to the Iowa Utility Board for a municipal utility.  That application process will include a "discovery" procedure which will force Alliant to open its books so that the City can make an accurate financial analysis of the costs in developing and running a municipal electrical utility.  And that determination will answer the question regarding which feasibility study offered the more accurate analysis -- the study presented by Decorah Power or that done by Alliant.  Could this be why Alliant is opposed to a referendum?

There is only one way to find out.  And that one way is to vote "Yes" for a municipal utility.

Does a vote in favor of a municipal utility make the decision final?  No, because at any point, the City Council can withdraw from the application process.  Thus a "Yes" vote does not move the City past a fail-safe point in the Iowa Utility Board's procedures.  Should the discovery phase reveal that Alliant's analysis was the more accurate study presented, the City could then withdraw from the process.  The money spent to that point would be justified as expending funds for the third and final feasibility study to determine which of the previous studies was the more accurate.  Fiscal prudence would demand such an approach.  

However, if the discovery phase finds that the study funded by Decorah Power was the more accurate of the two, then the City can proceed with the IUB process in a fiscally responsible manner.  And the public would finally know which party provided the more-accurate feasibility study.

Thank you, City Council, for enabling the public to proceed with discovering the truth regarding the two feasibility studies.  Now, it is up to the voters to complete the process of discovering which entity presented the more truthful, honest, and accurate feasibility study -- Decorah Power or Alliant.

There is only one way to find out.  Vote "Yes" for a municipal utility in the upcoming referendum."