$12,000 isn’t that much for Danville Utilities in the overall budget, but they’ve got a bad sense of timing.
Danville Utilities awards $12,000 grant to Habitat
During the past winter, customers of Danville Utilities frequently complained about high electric bills. Despite assurances from the mayor and city council who said “We’re listening to you”, nothing has came out of this listening yet and we’re five months past the issue. Danville has a Utility Commission that meets monthly but again, we’ve heard nothing about any billing policy changes. Now comes this donation of $12,000. It’s a good program and it’s a good cause, but there’s no explanation where the $12,000 came from. That amount of money wouldn’t affect anybody’s utility bill, but it’s the image of giving money away when customers are complaining about utility rates that cast this donation into a bad light.
Good donation. Bad timing. Danville Utilities should have seen this public reaction coming.
Danville Utilities, is it a city owned entity? If yes, why is it giving away taxpayer money?
The bigger question, if Danville Utilities is a city-owned entity, is: Why does Danville Utilities exist in the first place? Administration of the utilities in Danville should be in private hands, not a part of the city, so the utilities in question could be run better and for a lower cost to those served.