PSC and the utility of transparency
Last month, the Inter Lake ran a guest editorial from the Boulder Monitor complaining about an effort by the Public Service Commission to repeal a 2010 rule requiring utilities to disclose the salaries of their three highest-paid executives.
Frankly, it seemed to us to be pretty obvious that ratepayers should have a right to know where their money was going. The fact that the PSC seemed to be bowing to the will of a powerful international firm that recently acquired the Mountain Water Co. of Missoula also worried us, as it was the perfect indicator of why transparency should trump privacy in the realm of public business.
PSC Commissioner Roger Koopman, one of the four commissioners who supported repealing the salary disclosure requirement, disagreed, and argued in a recent guest opinion that the PSC should have discretion to protect the “privacy” of smaller utilities.
But why?
What exactly is this claim of privacy protecting? Salaries that are in line with public expectation will not result in any outrage, and in most cases they will never be published because they have no news value. But everyone should be aware that abuses exist in all areas where money changes hands, and those abuses are much less likely to occur when transparency exists.
Moreover, by arguing that decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, Commissioner Koopman is really inviting speculation that the PSC will pick winners and losers based on political or personal criteria that may never see the light of day.
Keep the 2010 rule in place, and let the sun shine in.
Say goodbye to Saverud’s
It’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Saverud Paint Shop, a retail fixture in downtown Kalispell for 90 years. The Saverud family has served the community well, offering the kind of hospitality and customer service that kept people coming back to the store all those years.
The local construction downtown brought on by the national recession more than four years ago has been a big challenge for small family-owned businesses like Saverud Paint Shop. But equally as challenging for downtown businesses has been the changing face of retail and the rise of big box stores.
Saverud’s will be open until the end of the month and there are probably some good deals on paint and paintbrushes to be had. Stop by and thank these dedicated folks for nine decades of selling the stuff that always made our town look a little nicer.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.