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Wednesday, December 10, 2008 3:47 PM Power agency approves budget By Rochelle Moore Daily Times Staff Writer The N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency board approved its 2009 budget Wednesday with some cuts in agency services and a slash in merit pay increases for some ElectriCities employees. The almost $726 million 2009 NCEMPA budget increased by $51.5 million from the 2008 budget of $674.3 million, reflecting a 7 percent overall increase. Many of the increases were due to rising energy related costs, which also led to an upcoming 4 percent electric rate increase for NCEMPA customers starting in February. The proposed budget included a $500,000, or 5, cut in power agency services from the budget's earlier proposal of $10.8 million. The power agency services will now be funded at about $10.3 million. Power agency services include personnel costs, travel expenses, office expenses, outside services, program expenses, asset purchases and outside consultants. NCEMPA board members were pleased with the 5 percent cut but Kinston NCEMPA member Scott Stevens said that he was concerned with the salaries many are making at ElectriCities. "If we believe the salaries are high, this is the time to make a difference," Stevens said. "I can guarantee that no one in Kinston is getting a $2,000 increase (in salary)." John Craft, a NCEMPA member from LaGrange, asked the board to approve the proposed budget along with a cut in merit pay increases from 2.2 percent to 1.5 percent. The majority of the board voted against the cut, with Wilson City Councilman Donald Evans, a representative on the NCEMPA board, voting for the cut. After the issue failed, Sam Noble, Tarboro's NCEMPA member, recommended a compromise of 2 percent for merit pay. The motion was passed, with Evans voting for the 2 percent merit pay increase. The NCEMPA budget will go into effect Jan. 1, 2009. NCEMPA is one of two public power agencies managed by ElectriCities. As a member, the city of Wilson serves on the NCEMPA board and has the ability to buy electricity at wholesale rates from NCEMPA. For more on this story, see the Thursday edition of the Wilson Daily Times. |
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James said...
At a time when real companies are laying off people and executives everywhere are taking pay cuts, ElectriCities is proving itself to be both tone-deaf and irresponsible. Just when you thought they couldn't do worse.
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 8:31 AM
Tina said...At a time when real companies are laying off people and executives everywhere are taking pay cuts, ElectriCities is proving itself to be both tone-deaf and irresponsible. Just when you thought they couldn't do worse.
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 8:31 AM
Ha Ha Ha. This is the best yet. IMO, these people are morally vacant. You have got to be kidding that this is the best they could come up with to cut??? Estherine Davis and Drew Saunders book Inaugural Ball tickets, according to Raleigh sources, in order to keep up with Duke and Progress Energy and this is all they can cut. What a joke. Jesse Tilton is gone but Art Hubert appears to be as mentally and morally vacant, if not more, since he had an opportunity to do the right thing and chose the inflated, sloppy, superspending staff over the ratepayer. No wonder people are living eastern NC. ElectriCities is RUINING IT.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 9:56 PM
