Lafayette Hart Park Civic Association

Politics Actions

by Sun-Sentinel

Activists plan to crowd City Hall for FPL vote tomorrow

Tomorrow night is Fort Lauderdale's final vote on a 30 year relationship with Florida Power and Light.

Activists have been sending emails trying to get a crowd to show up for tomorrow night's meeting.

In addition, Trevor Underwood sent a letter to elected officials imploring them not to approve the deal until a study can be done of whether it makes sense to buy the grid and hire someone else to operate it, also known as "municipalization.''

Here's an excerpt from his letter, which also zeroes in on the proposed increase in franchise fees, which are paid by FPL's customers in Fort Lauderdale. Underwood is a Utility Advisory Board member.

The Comparison Chart provided to City Commissioners highlights that the negotiating team believed that they obtained an improved deal with FPL by increasing the franchise fee from 5.9% to 6.0%, removing the deduction for ad valorem taxes and assessments on property from the calculation, and by extending the most favored nation clause.

As the franchise fee is paid by consumers, not by FPL, these efforts achieve nothing other than increasing the tax burden on residents of Fort Lauderdale in a particularly regressive fashion; by increasing the tax on electricity, a necessity of life, which bears heavily on low income families. If the City wished to increase tax revenues it should have done so honestly, by increasing property taxes or, preferably, through sales taxes on non-essential goods and services. In most countries, electricity and other essentials such as food, are exempted from sales tax; not the other way round.

The main effect of the proposed franchise agreement is that the City gives up control over the supply of electric and telecommunications services, including the ability to substitute alternative energy supplies, for the next 30 years, by giving up its right to provide its own local electric distribution system or to introduce competition in the supply of electricity. For giving up this right and for granting FPL use of the City’s rights of way, FPL pays nothing and the City receives nothing in return.