Back to ERTH - Hello! Anybody listening?

It's our ERTH!

The link below is the Volume 1, Edition 1, ERTH Corporation Shareholder Newsletter available on the Town of Ingersoll website "Oct 12th Council Meeting Agenda" . I think that this election has touched a nerve amongst our current council as "Communication" seems to be high on the agenda. The most interesting statement in the newsletter is that "we would ask that its (this newsletter) distribution remain relatively limited"

http://www.ingersoll.ca/Council_Meetings/Agendas/2010%20AGENDAS/2010%20COUNCIL/11%20OCT%202010/ERTH.pdf 

I don't know about most folks, but I think when you produce a newsletter, first off the purpose is to communicate which means to "all" interested parties. (we as residents of Ingersoll are the largest shareholder) and stating that distribution be limited either means there is something to hide or arrogance as in "we the little folks won't understand so why bother them? ".

Having said that, kudos to the Town of Ingersoll for posting it on the web and to ERTH for producing it.

Erie Thames Powerlines services more than 14,500 customers in an area that stretches from Tavistock to Port Stanley. Areas that we currently service are the municipalities of Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Ingersoll, Thamesford, Otterville, Norwich, Burgessville, Beachville, Embro and Tavistock. Each of these customers pays almost $60 a year more in service charges than Tillsonburg residents do. That is over $800,000 a year that comes from our disposable income. Over 1/4 of a million dollars from Ingersoll residents alone. Big numbers but what does $5 a month mean to the average family? Times are tough, we all have to cut back remember? Our provincial government even has a website called Strong Medicine for Ontario.  http://strongmedicine.forontario.ca/ This is why we have the HST apparently. Seems to me though that residents are the only ones cutting back. ERTH corporation in their newsletter shows they had  1/2 million dollars in expenses over budget in the reported quarter. Their expectations are that powerlines will have a good third quarter. (That's you and me and the factories that can pay up to an extra $1,000 a month over comparable rates in Tillsonburg). I am not a financial expert but from a customer standpoint, me paying more every month is not the way I want my suppliers to make a profit. From a shareholder aspect I think that Mr. Petits' organization needs to go on a diet too and we need to hold our director representative Mayor Holbrough accountable for letting ERTH get out of control. 

Speaking of Mayor Holbrough, he corrected his statement to me about the returns ERTH has given us in it's 10 year existence. It was not $10 million as he stated at the All Candidates night (Showing on Rogers Cable 13 regularly over the next week) - That is what its value shows on the town books. I have also been told that the reason ERTH lost money last year was due to the strike. Hmmm! Remember how council shied away from being involved in the strike? Remember the full page ad that said the 50 employees had 29 managers? Remember the 3 new executive positions created? Did your bill in the fall double because the managers running the show missed sending out August's bill? Is the reason the Solar Farm opportunity is looked at with a jaundiced eye by voters because of our record with ERTH corporation? So many questions that need answers and we are told to trust the folks currently in charge. 

To me I think we need not only some answers but some evidence that things are changing for the better. We need to see the faces of ERTH and CRU at council and on Rogers TV to explain to us why our traffic lights are still disfunctional and why some of our streetlights shine 24 hours a day while others have a mind of their own as to when they shine. We need ERTH to tell us upfront why we pay a premium for the services they provide. We need ERTH to look at their mission statement again and create an entity where our former "HomeTown Utility" focuses on returning value to residents not becoming a global entity. ERTH has all the potential to show other utilities how it should be done, they just need to refocus on value for service, not what I view as a stock promotion for a public share offering. I think we need a change at the director level also and that is why I would like your support to be your Mayor of Ingersoll. We do not need another RSI fiasco or lose control of a Public asset like the 407. We need change.

Cheers

Tim Lobzun