Itta Bena is in serious trouble.
That was what Thelma Collins told the Commonwealth in 2013 shortly after beginning her final term as mayor. Her comment was regarding the city’s debt to the Municipal Energy Association of Mississippi. At that time, the debt stood at approximately $497,000.
Close to a decade has passed and the debt to the wholesale electricity provider has climbed to at least $650,000, according to the lawsuit MEAM filed against the city last fall.
The city has had a lot of bad luck over the years. Like a lot of small Delta towns, the population is declining. Businesses have departed. All that means a loss of revenue for the city.
Along with its debt to MEAM, Itta Bena has also been hit with a tax lien from the IRS and had a former clerk embezzle money.
Some problems have been solved. The debt to MEAM has been persistent.
It got to the point that MEAM threatened to shut off Itta Bena’s electricity unless substantial progress was made toward paying the outstanding bills. That should have been a sign.
In October 2020, the Itta Bena board voted to finally cede responsibility for managing its electrical service to Entergy Mississippi, in a deal negotiated by Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley. In addition, Entergy promised to replace or upgrade the city’s existing electric infrastructure. The arrangement would give the city property taxes and an annual 2% franchise fee.
For months, all eyes waited for Itta Bena to take the leap and begin the process of transferring its service to Entergy.
For months, now approaching years, nothing has happened.
MEAM, through its president and CEO, Geoffrey Wilson, remained patient for a time.
That patience has been exhausted.
In a letter addressed to Mayor Reginald Freeman in November, Wilson warned that MEAM would not wait forever while the city stalled on its transfer plan.
He said that MEAM’s commitment to providing electricity to the city would be on a month-to-month basis.
This past Friday, residents came before the Board of Aldermen to ask why an unknown fuel adjustment of $186 appeared on their bill.
The board, which knows the city is being sued by MEAM and which should know that Wilson warned about the consequences of inaction, said it had no idea from where this charge came.
Wilson said that power was now being supplied through the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). He warned in his letter to Freeman eight months ago about this very possibility and that the prices would soon be set by market prices set by MISO.
The frustration of the residents is understandable. The board has signaled it is OK with citizens paying higher prices because it doesn’t want to lose control of managing the electric service.
The defense has been that the revenues from the city-owned utility help fund city operations. A tax increase may be on the table if these revenues can’t be replaced.
Difficult decisions are coming. Continuing to do nothing is not an option.
When the board was approached with the Entergy deal, the perception might have been that Itta Bena had a real choice in the matter. It didn’t.
The city had years to work out some sort of payment plan with MEAM to work down its debt. It failed to do so. As a result, MEAM is no longer interested in talking.
No other organizations are going to want to do business with Itta Bena if it is having a very public problem paying off its debt while rejecting a public offer of assistance.
Itta Bena doesn’t have leverage in this situation. It’s time for Mayor Freeman and the board to realize that.
It’s time to take the Entergy deal.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
