CUB Welcomes New Portland Utility Board
Posted on August 19, 2015 by Jeff Bissonnette
Tags, Water/Wastewater
The Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon (CUB) welcomes the inaugural members of the new Portland Utility Board (PUB) who were confirmed by the City Council at its August 19th session.
Janice Thompson, CUB’s Consumer Advocate for Portland Public Utilities, served on the Utility Oversight Blue Ribbon Commission that recommended the formation of the PUB. The PUB ordinance adopted in June by the City Council highlights that PUB and CUB will “provide two independent sources of utility analysis and oversight for the public and the Council.”
CUB believes that the PUB brings two needed reforms to the oversight of Portland’s water and sewer utilities.
- The PUB will have dedicated staff that will provide more capacity compared to the former utility oversight group, and independence from solely relying on information provided by the utility bureaus.
- The PUB will be active year-round and can provide ongoing diligence that can increase its effectiveness in serving as budget advisor to the two utility bureaus. The PUB can also focus on “upstream” issues like reviewing planning of major construction projects that are the big long-term drivers for rate increases.
CUB is committed to building a collaborative relationship with the PUB to facilitate a coordinated approach to oversight of the City Council’s management of the Portland Water Bureau (PWB) and Bureau of Environmental Services (BES). CUB will also be monitoring the PUB and there could be times when our groups have different analyses and the City Council will benefit from varying recommendations from CUB and PUB.
Over the last year, Janice has used a helpful visual in meetings of the Blue Ribbon Commission and the City Council, the utility oversight triangle. The creation of the PUB completes the structural elements for effective utility oversight. Here is a before picture:
And here is the after – the current Portland Public Utility oversight triangle.
But now the rubber will meet the road in ensuring the new utility oversight structure is fully embraced by the City Council. If there is a return to the days of the City Council ignoring input, the new PUB will just be lip service. CUB is going to be working hard to make sure the City Commissioners really listen. After all, utility oversight is not a spectator sport. We will keep you posted on our efforts and will probably call on you to contact City Hall in the future to ensure that the City Council is listening to PUB, CUB and CUB members. Stay tuned…
To keep up with CUB, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
05/01/17 | 0 Comments | CUB Welcomes New Portland Utility Board