The Town of James Island is holding a public hearing about a proposed franchise agreement with SCE&G at the next Council meeting on Thursday, April 17. The proposed agreement includes a 1% franchise fee on electricity and natural gas. The agreement will also remove the subdivision lighting fee from the bills for residential power users in the Town and require the Town to pay the electric bill for street lights in the Town.
The 1% franchise fee will cover the cost of the Town's power bill for street lights. It will raise approximately $149,000 per year and the cost of streetlights will be $10,000 per month. The fee will appear on the power and gas bills of residents in the Town. The bills will increase by the franchise fee, but the bills will decrease by the amount of the subdivision lighting fee.
The first Town signed a franchise agreement with SCE&G and had them install streetlights. The Town agreed to pay for those lights. It collected a franchise fee, which provided funds to pay for the streetlights. I don't know how much the franchise fee was, but I will find out.
When the first Town lost its court battle in 1996, the franchise agreement and fee went away, but SCE&G got the Public Service Commission of South Carolina to allow them to add a "subdivision lighting fee" to the power bills of the former residents of the first Town. SCE&G told me that if we do not sign this agreement, they will request a rate increase, to cover the cost of providing streetlights. They plan to do that anyway to cover the cost of providing street lights for those who were in the first Town but are not in the current Town.
For the second and third Towns, SCE&G took a "wait and see" approach. They waited to see if the Town would survive. They told me that their plan was to approach the Town if it prevailed in court. Unlike other municipalities, the second and third Towns had no way to install additional streetlights where needed. With the fourth Town free of legal challenge, SCE&G has been pressuring us to take responsibility for the streetlights installed by the first Town.
In my view, the current Town should take responsibility for the streetlights installed at the request of the first Town. I think the 1% franchise fee is necessary to cover this added cost. The Town will be able to have additional streetlights installed when necessary.
The City of Charleston has a 5% franchise fee for power and gas. That is relatively high, and most municipalities have a fee of 3%. I am proposing 1%. That would be the lowest in South Carolina. Future Mayor's and Council's could raise the franchise fee, but it will require an amendment of the ordinance for the franchise agreement. There would be a public hearing and a first and second reading (votes) by Council.
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. Email me at mayorwoolsey@gmail.com or call 697-7020.
No comments:
Post a Comment