Change can be difficult. Shakeups create even more dissent. Sides are
formed. Lines are drawn. Emotions run high. Lubbock citizens experienced each of
these feelings with Lubbock Power and Light's difficulties. You can't help but
wonder whom to trust.
Wonder no more. Buffering LP&L from the City Council by placing it under a
governing board was a wise thing to do.
We trust our current council members, but it is always in the best interest
of any city to have checks and balances in place. In fact, we applaud our
council members for standing on firm ground and not wavering when extensive
changes were needed.
Three major rating agencies look at all aspects of cities across the United
States.
All three agencies — Standard and Poor's, Moody's Investor's Service and
Fitch Ratings were forced to downgrade our ratings due to LP&L's past financial
situation as well as how it could impact the general fund balance of Lubbock.
Fund balances are not something to impact negatively and Lubbock can settle
for nothing short of securing and maintaining exemplary city bond ratings.
Thanks to the vision of our current City Council, we are now on the right
path.
"I think they're now seeing that what we said was not a lot of salesmanship,"
said City Councilman Gary Boren. We're seeing it too, Mr. Boren.
As of last week, Standard and Poor's has upgraded our city rating to
BBB-minus while Moody's is currently viewing us as AAA and Fitch has given us a
BBB-plus.
"With continued good results during fiscal year 2005, I believe there is a
good chance to see the ratings begin to improve," said Lee Ann Dumbauld,
Lubbock's chief financial officer.
We agree. The LP&L incident gave each Lubbock citizen tangible evidence that
our City Council members truly want the best for Lubbock — and that they know
how to get us there!
***
Lubbock Power & Light, a
municipally owned entity of the City of Lubbock is separately governed by an
Electric Utility Board appointed by the Lubbock City Council. LP&L has
approximately two hundred employees working toward generating and
distributing electrical service for the citizens of Lubbock, Texas. LP&L
distributes over 85,000 monthly utility statements for electric, water,
sewer, solid waste and storm water services. LP&L serves over 70% of the
electric market in Lubbock, Texas.
