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Saturday, September 27, 2008 3:00 AM ElectriCities CEO does not get raise By Rochelle Moore | Times Staff Writer RALEIGH -- Concerns about rising electric rates, energy costs and other economic factors led the ElectriCities board of directors to hold the line on the salary of its top chief executive Friday. The board of directors, which includes representatives from cities, including Wilson, that are part of ElectriCities, decided by consensus Friday at its Raleigh headquarters to not give CEO Jesse Tilton a raise this year. ElectriCities is the managing entity for the N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency and N.C. Municipal Power Agency, both of which supply electricity to member cities across the state. "I think it sends a message to our ratepayers that our board is concerned about his compensation and how that ties into the economy and the rates," said Sam Noble, Tarboro town manager and chairman of the board. "As far as perception, people do have concerns about how we compensate our CEO." The 14-member board, including Wilson Mayor Bruce Rose, met in closed session to discuss Tilton's job performance as part of its annual evaluation. Rose and Noble declined to discuss any details of the evaluation or Tilton's contract, a process that is protected by state law. The board, in agreement with Tilton, was unanimous in its decision to not give Tilton a raise. "The board just felt like it wasn't a good time to raise his salary," Rose said. Tilton did receive a 2.98 percent raise in November 2007 and is currently paid an annual salary of $436,283. His total compensation package, which includes 401K benefits, an annuity contract contribution and automobile allowances, is $458,002. Board members representing the N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency, which supplies wholesale electricity to 32 eastern North Carolina cities, including Wilson, also discussed concerns about being notified early of any possible electric rate increase for early 2009. NCEMPA's August rate increase of 14 percent was presented by the rate committee in June, approved by the board of directors in July and went into effect Aug. 1. "We just need more lead time so we can tell our cities and plan," Noble said. The ElectriCities rate committee plans to meet in January and recommendations would then be passed on to the board and discussed in subsequent NCEMPA meetings. "If we're going to have a rate committee meeting in January, we don't need a rate increase in February," said Mark Williams, Wake Forest town manager. "The problem is having to do them so quickly. Some of us were having to call special meetings to get things done." Ken Raber, NCEMPA senior vice president, told the board that energy and energy-related costs are continuing to rise and the board may need to consider new policies that would allow the power agency to better plan for fluctuations in the market. Increasing NCEMPA's working capital from the current $5 million may need consideration, said Tim Tunis, ElectriCities chief financial officer. "We've been trying to keep rates as low as possible and working capital as low as possible with no flexibility, and I really think we have got to change that philosophy as we go into the future or we're going to have to keep reacting," Raber said. "That's what we're doing right now, we are simply reacting." The board will be presented with a review of the working capital during its October meeting with enough time to consider any changes prior to any future electric rate increases, Tunis said. The ElectriCities board plans to start reviewing the 2009 proposed budgets for NCEMPA, NCEMPA and ElectriCities in October. The NCEMPA budget could be approved during its December meeting. rochelle@wilsontimes.com | 265-7818 |
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