McHenry County Blog

A press release from State Rep. Mike Tryon:

Tryon Bill that Saves Park Districts Money on Energy Costs Receives Unanimous Support in the House

SPRINGFIELD….. A bill that has the potential to save Illinois Park Districts up to 30% on their energy costs received unanimous support in the Illinois House last week and is headed to the Senate for consideration.

State Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake), Chief Sponsor of House Bill 2232, said the bill allows park district officials to take advantage of electricity deregulation and shop for alternative electric suppliers and cheaper rates.

“This bill has great potential to save park districts a lot of money,” said Tryon. “And since park districts are funded primarily through taxes, this is also a win for taxpayers.”

Under the provisions of the bill, park districts may enter into a contract to purchase energy from a utility or an alternative retail electric supplier for a term exceeding one year, but not to exceed three years.

“Park Districts have significant electrical needs that extend beyond their main buildings,” Tryon said. “They provide security lighting at park facilities, lighting for baseball fields and tennis courts, heating and pumping of water for swimming pools, and much more,” said Tryon.

“Since we already allow our municipalities and our county governments the ability to take advantage of electricity deregulation, it only makes sense that we extend the same money-saving opportunity to our park districts.”

Peter Murphy, President and CEO of the Illinois Association of Park Districts, said he was pleased the bill received unanimous support in the House.

“The Illinois Association of Park Districts commends Representative Tryon for bringing this legislative initiative forward,” he said. “It’s a common sense bill that saves taxpayers money.”

The final part of Lakewood Village President Ern Smith’s winter newsletter follows:

Electrical Aggregation

In the spring of 2012, our residents approved a referendum [results for all such referendums at link] by the widest margin in McHenry County to implement a municipal aggregation program for electricity.

Our results were better than hoped for, as we were able to secure some of the lowest electrical generation rates in the state of Illinois at less than half of the rate from ComEd.

We estimated that this program would save our residents between $300 and $350 annually.

However, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has initiated rulemaking that will negatively impact current and future municipal aggregation programs.

The ICC has chosen to undertake this process even though the General Assembly made it clear when it passed the enabling legislation that the ICC has no authority to regulate municipal aggregation programs.

The Village of Lakewood has chosen to work with 83 other communities as a part of a coalition to maintain our existing municipal aggregation program and fight the overreach of the ICC.

You can help us by contacting the following officials to express your support for the existing municipal aggregation program that you chose via a referendum:

• ICC Chairman Doug Scott at (800) 524-0795
• State Senator Pamela Althoff at (815) 455-8284
• State Representative Michael Tryon at (815) 455-8284

New Business

I am very pleased to announce the opening of our newest business at Lakewood Commons – Tres Chic Boutique. It is a full service salon that will offer a wide range of services in a beautiful setting. The opening is tentatively scheduled for February 1, so please check our website regularly as the date approaches and be prepared to help support our newest business.

With this upcoming opening, only four of the original thirteen units at Lakewood Commons remain vacant. The owner is in the midst of installing a new sign that will help identify businesses, which is one of the most frequent requests we hear. In addition, a successful entrepreneur (who currently has two businesses) would like to open a Mexican restaurant in two of the remaining four units. However, much of his capital is tied up in his existing businesses, so he is seeking opportunities for investors or other loan programs. Please contact Village Manager Catherine Peterson directly for further information. Remember – our residents are our greatest resource!

As always, I encourage you to contact me or any of our officials with questions regarding any of the projects highlighted in the newsletter or that you might read about elsewhere.

Sincerely,

Erin

Sixteen homeowners opted out of the Village of Lakewood’s plan to purchase electricity from Direct Energy at a substantial savings over what Commonwealth Edison charges.

46% less, in fact.

That will not be a reduction in the entire bill.

All will still have to pay Com Ed’s delivery charge, which, thanks to Representatives Jack Franks and Mike Tryon, plus Senator Pam Althoff, will go up $3 a month starting in January.

Villagers voted in a higher percentage for the bulk buying idea than in any other municipality in McHenry County.

Summer 2012

As I sit to write this letter, it is a beautiful spring day and there is much to celebrate within the Village of Lakewood.

Lakewood Property Taxes

We recently received our property tax bills and, for many of us, the news was not good as our overall taxes increased. For nearly all of our residents, however, the portion of real estate taxes paid to the Village of Lakewood should have decreased.

This is a direct result of the final payment being made for the bond that was used to purchase RedTail Golf Club. That obligation has now been completed, and no additional taxes will be levied for RedTail Golf Club.

Electrical Aggregation

Unless you already have an alternate electrical supplier, you should have recently received an Opt Out letter from Direct Energy and the Northern Illinois Governmental Electric Aggregation Consortium (NIGEAC). NIGEAC is the intergovernmental consortium that was formed for the purpose of securing a lower rate for electricity for a number of McHenry County communities.

This process was made possible by the referendum that was passed in March, and I am proud to note that the referendum passed by a higher margin in the Village of Lakewood than in any other community in McHenry County. The rate secured from Direct Energy is $0.04169, which is less than half of the current rate from ComEd.

To date, we believe that it is the lowest rate in the state, and we estimate that the annual savings for our residents will be between $300 and $350.

Unless you opt out of the contract with Direct Energy, you will automatically be enrolled and will begin seeing the new rate on your ComEd bill as early as June. ComEd will continue as our service provider, maintaining the infrastructure that provides the electricity, but purchasing the supply of electricity from Direct Energy.

Garbage and Recycling Services

We also recently extended our existing contract with MDC Environmental Services (our refuse hauler) for a period of six years. During the first year, there will be no rate increase. In the second and third years, the rate will simply be adjusted by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In the fourth year, there will again be no rate increase. And in the fifth and sixth years, the rate will again be adjusted by the CPI. There will be very few changes in service. For those residents who have requested a cart for yard waste, MDC will provide a 95 gallon yard waste cart at an additional cost of $1.50/month. Any resident who chooses this option will still be entitled to the collection of four bags of yard waste at no additional cost. The fee for an additional garbage cart will be reduced from $2/month to $1.50/month. Please call Village Hall if you want to take advantage of either of these new service enhancements.

2012 – 2013 Budget

The Fiscal Year 2012 – 2013 budget which was adopted in April is balanced and includes numerous infrastructure improvements, including street repaving and water main replacement. It does not contemplate a rate increase for customers of Lakewood Utilities, and it is unknown at this time whether there will be a rate increase for East Sewer customers.

Residential Development

During the past few years of this economic downturn, there have been no new single family homes built in our community.

That trend has changed, however, and we have already issued two building permits for single family homes that are currently under construction. An additional two homes have been approved by the Architectural Review Committee, and several more are in various stages of design.

A new owner has purchased the vacant parcels in The Highlands at RedTail subdivision, and he intends to move forward immediately to complete the unfinished four-unit building. All of this is a very positive sign as both businesses and individuals are again choosing to make substantial investments in our community.

Future Commercial Development

Recently, the Village Board purchased the parcel of land located at the southwest corner of Route 47 and Pleasant Valley Road (just north of Crystal Woods Golf Course). This was a strategic investment for the purpose of maintaining control of future development at this intersection. We were able to secure the property for significantly less that its appraised value and the current leases on the property more than cover the cost of our 10-year loan. The funds needed to purchase the property will be taken from reserves, so residents will see no tax increase as a result of the purchase.

Summer Celebrations

While we continually strive to provide our residents with the highest level of services in the most cost effective manner possible, we also recognize that our quality of life is equally as important. There are several opportunities to participate in local activities this summer. Enclosed with this newsletter is a flyer inviting you to “Celebrate Lakewood” on June 10. Not only is it a chance to see the newly remodeled RedTail Clubhouse, but there will be free food, activities, and prizes!

Our first church, Crosspoint Lutheran, is sponsoring a Family Fest on Saturday, July 7 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. It will include outdoor games and rides, free food, and an 80’s band.

And as hard as it is to believe, Lou Malnati’s will be celebrating its 5th Anniversary in the Village of Lakewood. In order to commemorate this event, Lou’s is sponsoring a 5K run/walk in August as a fundraiser for breast cancer. Please plan to attend one or all of these events!

Lakewood Commons

El Café is expected to be open for business on or about the weekend of June 9! It’s a warm and inviting space, and I strongly encourage you to stop by and welcome the newest member of our growing business community. My husband and I plan to be there every weekend for our morning coffee run(s), so please stop by and let me know your thoughts about our Village.

As a part of our Looking Out for Lakewood campaign, please contact me if you know of an individual who might be interested in opening a business at Lakewood Commons. I am most often asked about a breakfast/lunch diner, general store, or spa. But, we would welcome new suggestions from residents!

My best wishes for a safe and fun filled summer!

Sincerely,

Erin

Village President

The next step in lowering electric rates 46% (not Com Ed’s delivery charge) has taken place.

Direct Energy has notified residents of the municipalities which awarded it the contract (Woodstock, Huntley, Lakewood, Ringwood and Genoa) that they have the right to ope-out of the bulk buying contract.

Here’s the letter (click to enlarge):

If you are in unincorporated McHenry County or one of the municipalities who didn’t pass electric aggregation, you can sign up individually with any number of companies.

But, you’ll have to do it on your own.

A press release from the Northern Illinois Governmental Electric Aggregation Consortium and the Northern Illinois Governmental Electric Aggregation Consortium:

Direct Energy Offers Fixed Electricity Price to Five Communities in the Northern Illinois Governmental Electric Aggregation Consortium

Illinois (April 30-, 2012) – As part of its agreement with the Northern Illinois Governmental Electric Aggregation Consortium (NIGEAC), Direct Energy has set a new fixed rate for electricity customers in the cities of Genoa and Woodstock and the villages of Huntley, Lakewood and Ringwood.

For the August 2012 through July 2013 billing cycles, customers in the cities of Genoa and Woodstock and the villages of Huntley, Lakewood and Ringwood will pay $0.04169 per kWh for electricity supply (exclusive of utility distribution charges and taxes).

The current ComEd rate is $0.0773 per kWh. Please be advised that ComEd’s rates may change over time. [These delivery charges are the ones that State Reps. Jack Franks and Mike Tryon and State Senator Pam Althoff agreed to allow to be raised at least $3 a month.]

The NIGEAC has an agreement with Direct Energy for an electricity Opt-Out Aggregation Program, a program that is available to residential and small business consumers currently served by the local utility in Genoa, Huntley, Lakewood, Ringwood and Woodstock.

Under the Opt-Out Aggregation agreement, residents in those communities that are currently served by the utility are automatically included in the Opt-Out Aggregation pricing plan unless they contact Direct Energy to be excluded.

Direct Energy will be sending all residents of the five NIGEAC communities an opt-out letter in the coming weeks that will give them the option of starting service with Direct Energy or opting out of the program to stay with ComEd. The letters will explain how residents can opt-out of the program, if they so choose to do so.

“We are pleased that residents and small businesses in these communities represented by the NIGEAC will have the option of purchasing electricity through this agreement,” said Anna Moeller, Official Coordinator for NIGEAC and Executive Director of the McHenry County Council of Governments.

The NIGEAC is an intergovernmental consortium of five northern Illinois communities including the cities of Woodstock and Genoa and the villages of Huntley, Lakewood and Ringwood. It was created to coordinate the electricity aggregation process for these communities in order to achieve administrative costs savings and possibly more competitive electricity rates through the combined purchasing power of the five communities.

# # #

About Direct Energy

Direct Energy is one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related services providers with more than 6 million residential and commercial customer relationships. Direct Energy provides customers with choice and support in managing their energy costs through a portfolio of innovative products and services. A subsidiary of Centrica plc (LSE:CNA), one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, Direct Energy operates in 46 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and 10 provinces in Canada.

I missed the biggest news of Tuesday night.

It wasn’t the Grafton Township Electors voting to ratify the deal that the Township Trustees cut with Road Commissioner Jack Freund for the Town Fund to repay the loan taken out to buy the Town Hall property over a three-year period.

The 5% loan interest to finance the loan is higher than the under 1% interest being paid Grafton Township by investing it, but that issue didn’t surface and the practice will continue until the Road Commissioner pays back the last $300,000.

That savings pales in comparison to what I personally and what residents of

• Cary
• Crystal Lake
• Huntley
• Lakewood
• Prairie Grove
• Ringwood
• Woodstock

will save once a contract is signed with a supplier of electricity other than Commonwealth Edison.

Lakewood Village President Erin Smith summarizes the differences in prospective rates between a non-Com Ed supplier and Commonwealth Edison:

“The first bids came in with several rates between 4 and 5 cents per kilowatt.

“We pay approximately 6.7 – 7.1 cents today, depending on the season.

“Many contract details will need to be worked out before anything is final, but we are very encouraged by the first proposals.”

Citizens will probably save 25% to 30% once the contracts are in effect, based on current Com Ed rates and the “soft” bids to which Smith refers.

There is a requirement that two public hearings be held. No one showed up at the first Lakewood hearing.

The second was Tuesday night, the same night as the Village Board meeting.

One lady showed up.

Then, the Lakewood Village Board voted to go ahead with the “buying club.”

Customers have a right to opt out for 21 days after a letter has been mailed. Lakewood’s letter has not yet hit mailboxes.

If your municipality or unincorporated area is not on the list above, you can find the election night results here. (There were slight changes in totals, but no changes in results, after the late votes were added.)

A local blog called “The Barrington Hills Observer” offers a suggestion as to why the electric aggregation referendum failed in Barrington Hills.

Deepening the mystery are favorable referendum results in the neighboring villages of Barrington and South Barrington.

“Why did Barrington Hills residents resoundingly reject the opportunity to allow their Village leaders to negotiate electrical rates on their behalf?” the writer asks.

Not because of lack of education.  Barrington Hills had the following educational campaign:  “postcards, a web page, an open house and a lengthy newsletter article (albeit released after voting was over).”

Not voter apathy, the article reports.

So, what does the author offer:

“We must conclude that Barrington Hills residents simply do not trust Village officials to act on their behalf, particularly as it relates to financial matters that can affect residents’ pocketbooks very directly.  Our current administration’s financial bungling has been well documented in these pages and elsewhere. So at the end of the day, we must conclude that the resounding ‘No’ from residents on the aggregation referendum was a vote of no confidence in our current Village leadership.”

According to the Barrington Courier-Review, “Village President Robert Abboud’s conclusion is, “I think voting ‘no’ was vindictive toward your neighbor.”

He also blames low voter turnout.

911 voting.  Losing margin of 25.

 

In my election night (actually 3AM) article on the electric aggregation referendums in McHenry County, I asked those opposed to tell why. And I asked where they lived.

Here are the comments that were received thus far:

Sue Gwinnup said 03/21/2012 at 6:38 am:

Rural McHenry County – I do not want a program where I have to opt out, I’d rather a program where I can opt in. I want less government in my life not more.

So your comment about the distrust of government is true.

Not so much my county govt. but overall – state and national.

Jim said 03/21/2012 at 8:09 am:

LITH – The government does not do anything without sticking their hands out for a cut…so your hypothesis that trust in government is low is correct.

Cindy said 03/21/2012 at 8:36 am:

Anytime you let the government have MORE control of anything you have chaos.

Just look what happened when Crystal Lake was allowed to do this with trash collection!

I am still steamed about that! I am just appalled that ANYONE could vote yes on giving the government ANY kind of a hand in this!

Paul Culpeper said 03/21/2012 at 8:46 am:

I live in unincorporated McHenry County and voted no.

Like many other citizens of this country, I have become painfully aware that whenever government at any level gets involved in any economic activity it becomes more expensive and less efficient.

Sure, it might be cheaper at first, but as the beauracratic administrative state grows over time it eventually costs us all more in taxes.

For every hard working public employee, you’ve got three more bending paper clips and looking out the window.

It’s time to get the entitlement dependent culture and the public agency spending under control. Or we’re doomed as a society.

Another Jim said 03/21/2012 at 9:14 am:

Cal, you asked why someone would vote against this and here is my answer… I voted no because the government has no right to choose energy providers for private citizens.

While I support the Village of Cary to choose whatever provider they want for thier own energy needs, hands off my electricity.

Opt-out is not a choice.

Individual choice will be removed from the citizens.

I looked at the choices that other area communities have made and found that most DO NOT choose the lowest price provider.

My neighbor community Fox River Grove chose the highest price alternate provider, only slightly below Com Ed.

It makes me wonder what kind of kick-backs, graft and corruption have entered into the energy provider selection process.

And the glossy brochure that was mailed by the Village makes it clear there is financial incentive for someone to have all citizens be SLAMMED into an alternate energy provider.

Why the results in my community were not as I had hoped, I am glad other communities chose more wisely on these referenda.

Cal Skinner said 03/21/2012 at 9:47 am:

Illinois state government has forced all of us to use Com Ed until quite recently.

Cindy sayid 03/21/2012 at 2:41 pm:

Cal? How is that a reason to accept local government controlling your choices?

Because it was once a monopoly?

Not good reasoning, there, Cal.

Do you believe that your local government entities are the ones that broke the monopoly for you?

Going willingly down a rat hole never is a good choice!

Amy said 03/21/2012 at 7:02 pm:

LITH – I am glad this was rejected.

I remember in the early 2000′s when Peoples Energy was pushing a similar deal with getting a “better rate” on gas than Nicor, and I was skeptical when I was reading their brochures.

Then they got sued and had to pay out $100 million to customers for overcharging them for several years. That case is explained here:

http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2006_04/20060426b.html

Checking CUB’s website, it raises some great questions that I haven’t been able to find answers for (in LITH’s press releases or on the Village’s website) as to how much $$ will they be paying a consultant to “negotiate” better rates, and there is no assurance that it will, in fact, lower rates.

I would rather make these decisions myself, as an educated consumer, than leave it to my well-meaning local government to determine that.

Joe said 03/21/2012 at 9:49 pm (Edit):

There are a number of reasons why folks should have voted NO on this.

First, history proves the cities that have aggregated are not saving much, and some are paying MORE. People should have their own choice to buy their products and services.

They sold this really well comparing it to “buying bulk at Costco” and the like, but if that’s true, then why have the cities that are already doing this providing average-awful rates to its residents?

FACT: my brother lives in Batavia and they have their residents locked into an awful rate, over 8 cents/kwh to be specific.

I called the City to ask if its possible to switch and they said no.

Now that there’s healthy competition in the free market, consumers can go to alternative suppliers such as North American Power, Ambit, IGS, etc and get a rate of just 5.99 on their own, and they didn’t need a government mandate or a bulk purchase to make that happen.

Free markets make that low rate happen.

The most recent suburb that I know of to aggregate their electricity to try and get their residents a better deal was Oak Park.

With their collective buying power, they secured a decent rate… I think it was around 5.89 or something, but that’s still very close to the 5.99 you can get today on your own from most of the alternate suppliers.

So if you ask me, passing this just makes Government bigger, reduces our personal freedom of choices, and now the monopoly that was once controlled by the utility is owned by the Government.

After the article went up, I got an email from Chicago Tribune reporter Robert McCoppin. He wondered if I could put him in touch with any of the commenters. If you would like to tell him why you voted against your referendum, he invites you to give him a call at 847-755-8927.

McCoppin is the one, by the way, who wrote the comprehensive article about McHenry County Deputy Sheriff Zane Seipler’s return to work.

What I thought was going to be the most uncontroversial item on the ballot wasn’t.

Having put together the bulk buying of natural gas for state government facilities across Illinois while working for the Department of Central Management Services, it seems to be that the bulk buying of electricity is a pretty straight forward proposition.

Unless you don’t trust your local government, what’s to object to?

Especially, since you can opt out of the program if you think Com Ed’s price will be better or you’d rather shop around for yourself.

I figure let someone who has more expertise do the shopping, so I voted, “Yes.”

I had gotten some emails opposed to it.One had two objections, one of which didn’t seem to make any sense to me.

The complaint was made that municipal officials would not be allowed to negotiate the delivery price.

That is completely correct and that is because the local delivery cost is set by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

I figure the person who sent the email just didn’t know that was the situation.In any event that objection was not a legitimate reason to vote “No.”

It might, however, be a reason to vote against legislators who voted to allow Com Ed to raise electricity delivery rates.  (See Senate roll call, which passed by only one vote.  See House roll call.)

The second objection was that it would force peak pricing.  I asked my Lakewood Village Administrator, but did not get an answer.

So, if you voted against the referendum in your area (unincorporated or municipality), please tell readers where you live and why you voted “No.”

Results of McHenry County electric aggregation referendums follow:

Algonquin is in two counties, McHenry and Kane. It passed by a little bit on the McHenry County side, but failed by more on the Kane County side. The result was as 1,557-1,576 vote, with early and absentee ballot still not folded in, for a 50.3% “Yes” vote and 49.7% “No.”

Now let’s look at those municipalities where people approved their referendums.

Huntley also straddles the Kane-McHenry County line. Unlike Algonquin, however, residents on both side voted for the referendum. There were 3,731 in favor and 2,870 against, when the figures were added together.  56.5% voted in favor.

I skipped Barrington Hills and Island Lake.