VOTE November 7 - North Branch Water & Light Referendum

11/07/2023

11/05/2023

HAVE AN OPINION? VOTE! YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

Vote "YES" or "NO" on NOVEMBER 7TH, 2023!

11/03/2023

🔴🔵 SAVE THE DATE: NOVEMBER 7TH, 2023! 🔵🔴

North Branch Residents To Decide Future of Water & Light Commission:

🔴 NEED TO KNOW INFORMATION:
North Branch, MN - On November 7, 2023, a special election will be held to determine if North Branch Water & Light (NBWL) will be dissolved, and the NBWL Commission abolished.

🔴 Faced with the retirement of a lineman, the resignation of office personnel, and an uncertain future related to staffing & management, the North Branch Water & Light Commission entered into a contract with the city in August 2021 - transferring utility operations until a long-term plan for their management could be established.

🔵🔴 The time has come for this plan to be decided, and the North Branch Water & Light Commission found it prudent to give residents a voice in this important matter.

🔴 The ballot contains the following two (2) questions:
1) Shall the public utilities commission transfer water utility to Council?
2) Shall the public utilities commission be abolished?

🔴 A vote of “Yes” across both questions on the ballot means:
- Increased accountability through elected officials
- Increased capability through use of robust City resources
- Increased reliability of utility services through improved resource & infrastructure planning

🔴 While a vote of “No” keeps the North Branch Water & Light Commission in place, along with its current structure, associated expenses, and operating costs (over $400,000/year).

🔵🔴 North Branch residents are encouraged to research this important election for themselves, and decide on their own accord what a better future for North Branch and themselves looks like.

To stay up to date on all the information regarding this critical election, please visit nbpuc.org, or visit the “North Branch WL Campaign” page on Facebook.

11/02/2023

💡💧 ACCOUNTABILITY💧💡

On November 7, 2023, a special election will be held to determine if North Branch Water & Light (NBWL) will be dissolved, and the NBWL Commission abolished:

A vote "YES" means:
-accountability and transparency from elected officials
-elected officials more attuned to local needs of community members
-local government community engagement that's able to hear concerns, gather feedback, and operate accordingly

A vote "NO" means:
-DIminished public confidence and community engagement because commissioners are appointed - not elected

11/01/2023

Did you Know Fact #6 - Updated meters means more accurate water bills

A vote "YES" means:
-Efficient resource allocation (efficient distribution of water and provision of sewer services)
-Under the city's management, the commission now has significant cash reserves (over $10 mil), a robust maintenance plan, a capital improvement plan, and a pricing structure that is reviewed regularly to ensure that revenues from operations (paid for and collected from the utility's customers) are adequate today and into the future to cover the costs of operations.
-Strategic infrastructure planning and investment

A vote "NO" means:
-If the decision of the residents is that they want the utility to remain a stand alone organization, the city must either be compensated for those services (to end the city subsidy of the utility operations) or the utility needs to rehire its own staff to bring these services in house, either option will result in an increase in operating costs to the utility. The wages and benefits for the anticipated new hires (2 water operators, a general manager and an accountant) by the utility is estimated to be $400,000.

10/31/2023

💡💧 OPERATIONS💧💡

On November 7, 2023, a special election will be held to determine if North Branch Water & Light (NBWL) will be dissolved, and the NBWL Commission abolished:

A vote "YES" means:
-The ongoing policy decisions, such as what rates to charge, will be made by the city council if the referendum votes pass. Operational decisions will be guided by the Public Works Director, and decisions related to setting annual budgets, approving payments and authorizing capital expenditures will be made by the City Council
-Robust data management and analytics leading to informed decision-making and resource optimization

A vote "NO" means:
-Disjointed decision making- water owned by the commission and sewer being owned and managed by the city
-Dimished public confidence and community engagement because commissioners are appointed- not elected

10/30/2023

*UPDATED FAQ*

10/30/2023

Did you Know Fact #5 - Improved Response Times for Emergencies

A vote "YES" means:
-Increased resources to boost innovation and technology adoption
-Capable emergency response with 24/7 on call coverage as a result of a larger staffing pool, keeping residents safe during times of crisis
-Comprehensive, long-term planning using city's established long-term capital and staffing planning models

A vote "NO" means:
-Stifled innovation and progress due to new staffing + training needs, and lack of subsequent utility management experience and resources
-Disjointed decision making- water owned by the commission and sewer being owned and managed by the city

10/26/2023

10/25/2023

Did you Know Fact #4 - Shared Resources Means Cost Savings

A vote "YES" means:
-A merger of utility and city resources, but with separate asset tracking and accounting comparable to what the city is doing with its wastewater/ sewer operations
-Cost savings to North Branch customers and the city (procurement, maintenance, operations etc.) via shared staffing
-Strategic infrastructure planning and investment
-Integration with city development planning to ensure responsible growth of infrastructure

A vote "NO" means:
-Disjointed decision making- water owned by the commission and sewer being owned and managed by the city
-Public Works will need to hire additional staff to offset the services being provided to the utility, we looked at what it would cost for the utility to bring these roles and responsibilities back in house rather than try to compensate the city for the value of the services it is providing. Those estimated costs include salaries and benefits for full time utility manager, financial management services, additional water staff for 24/7 on call coverage (extra staff is needed as there are only two credential holding water employees at this time), a generator operator (might be a duty for which the general manager is qualified to fill)
-In addition, the utility would be responsible for rent on the city owned buildings and other fees in lieu of property taxes, office supplies, IT management, auditing and consulting services, legal services, etc. The annual salaries of the positions referenced above without including on-call or overtime based on current pay scales are as follows:

general manager - $124,800
Water operators (x2) - $169,436
Accountant (finance manager) - $78,000

-These positions alone with benefits would result in increased costs to the utility approximately $465,295 (including 25% for payroll taxes and employee benefits). That number does not include other office related costs, generation related staffing, etc. So the $400,000 is a very low estimate, but one that shows how critical it is for a sustainable water operation, t0 merge that operation with the city for elimination of duplication of efforts, shared services, including shared on-call 24/7 coverage, generator monitoring 24/7, etc.

10/24/2023

🔴🔵 SAVE THE DATE: NOVEMBER 7TH, 2023! 🔵🔴

North Branch Residents To Decide Future of Water & Light Commission:

🔴 NEED TO KNOW INFORMATION:
North Branch, MN - On November 7, 2023, a special election will be held to determine if North Branch Water & Light (NBWL) will be dissolved, and the NBWL Commission abolished.

🔴 Faced with the retirement of a lineman, the resignation of office personnel, and an uncertain future related to staffing & management, the North Branch Water & Light Commission entered into a contract with the city in August 2021 - transferring utility operations until a long-term plan for their management could be established.

🔵🔴 The time has come for this plan to be decided, and the North Branch Water & Light Commission found it prudent to give residents a voice in this important matter.

🔴 The ballot contains the following two (2) questions:
1) Shall the public utilities commission transfer water utility to Council?
2) Shall the public utilities commission be abolished?

🔴 A vote of “Yes” across both questions on the ballot means:
- Increased accountability through elected officials
- Increased capability through use of robust City resources
- Increased reliability of utility services through improved resource & infrastructure planning

🔴 While a vote of “No” keeps the North Branch Water & Light Commission in place, along with its current structure, associated expenses, and operating costs (over $400,000/year).

🔵🔴 North Branch residents are encouraged to research this important election for themselves, and decide on their own accord what a better future for North Branch and themselves looks like.

To stay up to date on all the information regarding this critical election, please visit nbpuc.org, or visit the “North Branch WL Campaign” page on Facebook.

10/23/2023

💡💧 RELIABILITY💧💡

On November 7, 2023, a special election will be held to determine if North Branch Water & Light (NBWL) will be dissolved, and the NBWL Commission abolished:

A vote "YES" means:
-Sustainable staffing and management plan
-Comprehensive, long-term planning using city’s established long-term capital and staffing planning models
-Environmental sustainability via the city’s conservation initiatives
-Integration with city development planning to ensure responsible growth of infrastructure

A vote "NO" means:
-Keeping the North Branch Water & Light Commission in place, along with its current structure, associated expenses, with a ramp up of operation costs of over $400,000/year
-Disjointed decision making – water owned by the commission and sewer being owned and managed by the city
-Diminished public confidence and community engagement because commissioners are appointed - not elected