El Defensor Chieftain: Power to the co-op members

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Saturday, April 26, 2008

Power to the co-op members

First Person by T.S. Last

Socorro Electric Cooperative is having its annual meeting today (Saturday). I know, because I got official notice of the meeting in the mail a few weeks ago. The pamphlet said there would be entertainment, refreshments and door prizes.

But that might not be what motivates people to attend this year's meeting, which starts at 2 p.m. (registration begins at noon) at Finley Gym. An article that recently appeared in both the Albuquerque Journal (March 23 issue) and El Defensor Chieftain (March 26 issue) on the compensation co-op directors receive might prove to be an effective conductor.

SEC and some of its trustees figured prominently in the story, written by the Journal's Thomas J. Cole. It's probably appropriate to say that many co-op members who read the article were quite shocked.

The article casts SEC in a rather dim light, especially in comparison with the other 15 electric co-ops based in New Mexico. Here's a sample of some of what the article revealed:

SEC compensates its trustees more than $275,000 per year for benefits and expenses — about $118,000 more than Lea County, which was next on the list.

SEC's 11 trustees average about $25,000 in compensation per year — almost $10,000 more than their counterparts in Lea and $23,000 more than your typical trustee for the Southwestern Electric Cooperative in Clayton.

SEC had a relatively high rate of general and administrative expenses compared to total revenues, which were $17.6 million.

Most of the compensation is in the form of health, dental and vision insurance, but a significant portion is trustee expenses.

SEC trustees receive a $15 fee and $45 meal allowance for each of the board's twice monthly meetings. Trustees also receive a $120 allowance for each day spent on co-op business within the state and $175 if their business takes them out of state.

The figures used in the article were obtained from 2006 tax returns. As non-profit organizations, the co-ops are required to provide the information to the IRS and are subject to public inspection.

Then there were these two paragraphs, which were most concerning to me as both a newspaperman and as a co-op member:

"While the co-ops are billed as democratic organizations run by members, they don't operate under open-government rules similar to those for state and federal agencies.

"At Least some co-op boards have bylaws that permit them to meet without notice to members and when they meet, to exclude members from attending. The Socorro co-op falls into that category."

Co-ops are supposed to be run democratically, but rules like that leave members in the dark.

I'm willing to put my trust in a trustee, but, like an electric current, it goes both ways.

I'm not saying the trustees can't be trusted. Nor am I suggesting that anyone has done anything legally or ethically wrong.

Co-ops have been compensating trustees for their service to their communities in such ways since the 1950s. I am saying that maybe it's time we take a look at the co-op in a new light.

Things like closed meetings create questions in people's minds about the trustees' trustworthiness and leads to unnecessary speculation when illumination would serve to erase the shadows of doubt.

If SEC is run under democratic principles, then we the people can change it. Co-op members can follow the procedures to change the bylaws to call for open meetings.

Although members rely on SEC to provide them with electricity, the power is really with the people.

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