May 04, 2008
Sunday

Mr. Scott Willis made some very serious accusations recently concerning Ketchikan City senior management and the telecommunications division. I for one am very interested to know his source for that information. Please inform us Mr. Willis how you "know" certain managers near retirement are going to sell out the city, and take the money and run. Please tell us who these managers are and who informed you of their actions. Please tell us exactly what money is involved and how these senior managers plan to run with it. Before anyone should accept your comments, they should demand verification rather than believe another unfounded "Ketchikan" urban myth. I can understand your concern as a union employee about Ketchikan selling the phone company because any buyers likely would not hire union help. They cannot afford to and remain competitive with GCI, ACS, or AT&T. I am sure you are concerned that your job will disappear, which is probably why you wrote the letter to SitNews.

Mr. Willis stated that the telecommunication division is profitable and subsidizes the electric and water divisions. That is entirely true and is in fact largely due to the senior management Mr. Willis has disparaged and potentially slandered. However, that profit declined substantially last year because of competition. I urge readers to visit the following website address: ftp://www. city.ketchikan.ak.us/pub/agenda/080501KK.pdf

The document displayed explains a great deal concerning KPU telecommunications and the effects of union activities. The situation appears to be that the City of Ketchikan is unable to keep up with the technological and financial demands that will keep KPU telecommunications profitable in the future. The City Council is trying to make a good decision despite being hounded with misinformation from an unemployed charlatan masquerading as a "telecommunications expert". Competing companies such as GCI and AT&T will eventually overwhelm us turning our "Golden Goose" into a dead turkey that hangs around our neck. We are facing the same difficult decision that confronted Anchorage and Fairbanks concerning their publicly owned telephone companies. They failed to sell their utilities soon enough to secure good prices. We either sell the division now at some profit, sell later at much less profit, or hold on to an eventual money loser. The citizens of the City of Ketchikan simply cannot afford supporting another loser even if it means we no longer subsidize Mr. Willis and his union job.

Sincerely,

Dave Person
Ketchikan, AK

Received April 30, 2008 - Published May 04, 2008

Related Viewpoint:

RE: KPU SALE AND LIQUIDATION By Scott Willis

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