Some commissioners question 'aggressive' rate schedule changes

EPHRATA — The Grant County Public Utility District's senior staff members backed away from their telecommunications rate schedule proposal after the board of commissioners unanimously rejected several portions of it last week.

Now district Treasurer-Controller Nick Gerde and other senior staff have requested commission direction before proceeding with further analysis on proposed rates, according to this week's district press release.

But Commissioner Bill Bjork said senior staff received the board's policy input before the rate proposal was drafted.

"We gave them information," Bjork said. "They went off in their own direction."

Commissioner Tom Flint agreed.

"The rate proposal didn't represent the commission's will," Flint said. "I think there was a miscommunication about what staff was to do."

Flint said the board asked for a review of telecommunication rates, making sure they were fair and equitable. He wanted minor changes to the existing rate schedule, if necessary.

Gerde, he said, "took it upon himself" to draft a rate schedule focused on ensuring the fiber system can pay its operations and maintenance costs.

Flint believes adopting aggressive rate schedule changes would be inappropriate before the fiber optic system has been completely built out.

"These were aggressive rate schedule changes," he said of the most recent draft.

District staff began telecommunication rate schedule discussions with the board three weeks ago during a Jan. 12 workshop. The staff's rate proposal was based on a telecommunication market rate analysis.

"We've provided commissioners with a rate proposal that works to move wholesale telecommunications rates closer to wholesale market rates for comparable service. Consequently, this proposal also recovers Zipp Network annual operations and maintenance costs," said Gerde, in the press release. "Adoption of the rate schedule is a policy decision. The commission will provide their input before staff proceeds in outlining further proposals for evaluation."

Since objecting to the proposal, the commission requested additional information from the staff to assist them in adopting a different rate schedule.

For help, the commissioners contracted with J.R. Simmons of the TMC Group LLC. Simmons operates as an independent telecommunication industry expert with outside perspective on rate structures, the press release stated. Over the last several years, Simmons performed work for the district related to the Zipp Network.

Simmons is well recognized within the industry and will provide the commissioners with an independent analysis of the district's telecommunication system, Flint said.

Changes to the rate schedule will impact providers differently, depending on the services they purchase and receive, according to the press release. End users are impacted by changes depending on their service provider's pricing decisions.

Commission discussion regarding the proposed rate schedule changes is ongoing. Future public meetings about the rates will be advertised in local papers, on radio stations and on the district's Web page, the press release stated.