Burlington Telecom: The Critical Conditions Part 3

by Chris Campion

As we continue our review of the Burlington Telecom Proposal for Finding by the PSB, we note that Condition 56 of the CPG states:

In no event shall any losses or costs, in the event the enterprise is abandoned or curtailed, incurred by BT be borne by the City of Burlington taxpayers, the City of Burlington Electric Department ("BED") ratepayers or the state of Vermont, nor shall the City of Burlington expend any funds received from the State of Vermont to cover any losses or costs, in the event the enterprise is abandoned or curtailed, incurred by BT, as provided in 24 V.S.A. App. 3-438(c)(1).

BT argues that BT has not abandoned or curtailed business – but the Proposal for Finding states that “…such a result would be absurd as it would permit the use of taxpayer funds up until the moment of abandonment or curtailment, at which point it might be impossible to prevent taxpayers from bearing the burden of significant losses and costs”.  (p.14 of the Proposal for Finding.)   In other words, stating that you haven’t violated Condition 56 when it is clear that BT did not have sufficient cash flow to cover its operating expenses (as admitted by BT in its non-compliance with Condition 60) is like stating your house isn’t on fire because no one has yet called the Fire Department. 

But hey - let's rally round the BT fire.  One wonders what city administrators can possibly thinking, urging the public to subscribe to a telecom service that they themselves were funding in violation of the CPG - when telecom services already existed, everywhere in Burlington, for decades.

Comments

[CHT]

We need to pull the plug on BT, the 3000 subscribers are it!!
No one else wants BT in Chittenden County or any other part of the State.

Take the Mayor and the other and prosecute them, they signed an agreement knowing they could not handle the payment schedule or the conditions with in , they knew what they where doing and tried to hide what they did from the tax payers !!

I wonder what else City Hall is hiding