Co-op members chastise trustees

Socorro Electric Cooperative’s Board of Trustees got an earful from member-owners at the outset of the regular meeting on Sept. 22.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, several people spoke out against the manner in which the board went about its business.
“I’m concerned about the ability of this board to carry on honest business of the co-op,” said Mary Cate, of Tierra Grande, who was wearing a T-shirt that read “Socorro Electric Cooperative Member-Owner And My Vote Counts!”

Cates said she was “appalled” by the way the board has treated trustee Charlie Wagner.
Wagner is a leader in the movement to reform the co-op and is named as representative of the class of member-owners in a class action lawsuit filed against his fellow trustees and some former co-op officials. While Wagner has been critical of the board on many counts, he’s also been subject of name calling at recent meetings.
“I am ashamed of you,” Cate told the board.
Jay Smith of San Antonio, N.M., also scolded the board, saying the trustees needed to grow up.
“You act like a bunch of kids at these meetings,” he said.
Smith, who said he works hard to pay two electric bills each month, complained about upcoming rate increases.
“I don’t have that kind of money. If it goes higher, it’ll drive me to the poorhouse,” he said.
Smith also complained about co-op President Paul Bustamante, who has shown up late for some recent meetings and had to leave one of them early.
Smith said he’s been attending board meetings on a regular basis since the annual meeting last April and if he could make it to the meetings on time the co-op president ought to be able to so as well.
Alvin Hickox, also of San Antonio, chastised the board for its behavior at meetings.
“I honestly don’t think you take it seriously,” he said.
Hickox was the first person to answer the co-op’s lawsuit filed against all of the approximately 13,000 member-owners of the co-op last summer. The lawsuit was an attempt to block three new bylaws passed by the membership at the annual meeting — all of which called for the co-op to operate with increased transparency.
A dismissal of the lawsuit has since been filed, but it’s still tied up in court because several people, including Hickox, requested relief.
Member-owner Virginia Martin urged the board to approve an audit of the co-op’s books, which was on the agenda for that night’s meeting.
“The audit is a must,” she said. “We want to know where the money went.”
Later in the meeting, the board did approve the signing of a letter of engagement with BKD LLC, an independent auditing firm out of Springfield, Mo., that specializes in forensic audits.
Two other member-owners expressed their displeasure with the co-op’s operation.
Bruce Gilson, of Socorro, said he had previously inquired about purchasing firewood staked at the Socorro substation with former co-op General Manager Polo Pineda. Gilson said he was told that the firewood wasn’t for sale but was given away to co-op employees.
“If this was the case, who authorized the giving away of co-op assets?” Gilson asked.
Gilson also wanted to know what other co-op assets had been given away. Since he was directed to make his inquiry in writing, Gilson said he wanted the co-op to respond to him in writing.
Marie Watkins, of Luis Lopez, complained about loans Socorro Electric had taken from USDA’s Rural Utilities Service and pending rate increases.
Earlier this year the board accepted a $24 million loan for system improvements to be paid off over 35 years.
“How come six months ago it was OK to give a loan and now you have to jack our rates up to pay for expansion we don’t really need?” Watkins asked.
Larry McGraw, field representative for the Rural Utilities Service, responded to Watkins’ question by saying system improvements were necessary and the co-op needed the loans to pay for them.
“If you don’t do them, you won’t have adequate and dependable service,” McGraw said. “What (the co-op’s) doing is standard throughout the nation. It has to be done.”
Trustee Donald Wolberg added that the co-op’s service area is larger than nine individual states and the electric lines if strung together was enough to connect New York City with Marseille, France.
Public comment is now a regular agenda item at all board of trustees meetings. It was part of one of the resolutions that was passed at the annual meeting last spring.