Don Cope, President of Dalton UtillitiesDALTON, Ga. – The president of Dalton Utilities says the city-owned utility should be converted to a public nonprofit organization to protect its assets and drive long-term growth.
President Don Cope gave a presentation to the Dalton-Whitfield County charter commission Wednesday and answered questions about the utility company, which is worth more than $800 million and funnels about $9 million a year to city coffers.
The charter commission is studying the possible consolidation of Whitfield and Dalton and writing a charter for the new government. If recommended by the commission, citizens will vote on a merger in November 2012.
The Dalton City Council currently makes decisions about how Dalton Utilities is operated and managed. As a nonprofit, the utility would operate independently of the council or whatever government was formed after a merger, Cope said.
“It would be a lot more efficient for everyone and more in line with its functions if it were not so much about politics,” Cope said. “[Dalton Utilities] should be a community asset that operates for the benefit of the entire area.”
Cope stressed that he was offering his personal opinion, not that of the utility board or the city. Dalton receives about 5 percent of the utility’s gross revenue, which was more than one-third of the city’s entire budget last year.
The change could be done by writing a charter for the utility and asking state legislators to approve legislation authorizing it, Cope said.
Dalton and Whitfield County are the first Georgia governments to attempt consolidation with a public utility in the mix. City Councilman George Sadosuk has called DU the “800 million pound gorilla in the room” that will create challenges for the charter commission.
After Cope’s presentation, Sadosuk and commission Chairman Frank Thomasen said possible changes to the utility company are not a decision for the commission.
“It is something the unified government would have to look at,” Sadosuk said.
The utility company has been hugely beneficial to Dalton’s economy and manufacturing base, several commission members said Wednesday.
A council-appointed board oversees the utility, which provides water to city and county residents. The utility also owns a fiber-optic Internet and television division and its residential electric service, which is governed by state law, is restricted to primarily within the city limits.
It also provides natural gas and wastewater services. While most of its services are within Whitfield County, it has a small footprint in Murray, Catoosa, Gordon and Floyd counties.
Dalton Utilities generally has substantially lower rates — about 12 percent for a typical household — compared to statewide rates.
Cope said changes to the utility company should look at long-term possibilities for growth, especially since regulations limiting growth are likely to change.
“So many people want to look back instead of trying to look ahead,” he said. “We’ve got to be looking into the future — 20, 30, 50 years ahead.”