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[For Nicholas Johnson's op ed column that provoked this Letter see Nicholas Johnson, "Power Question is Simple One," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 29, 2005. For his response to this Letter, see "Can Voters' Petitions Create 'The Proposal of a city'?" a sub-heading in Nicholas Johnson, "The Significance of Iowa City's 'Public Power' Vote; Where Are the Relevant Statutory Provisions and What Do They Say?" August 1, 2005.

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.]

The more important ballot question Iowa City residents are being asked to vote on is "shall the City of Iowa City in the County of Johnson, Iowa, be authorized to establish as a city utility an electric light and power plant and system?" The key words here are "... be authorized to establish ..." If a majority of the voters vote "yes," they authorize the city to establish an electric utility. If they vote "no," they don't authorize the city to establish an electric utility.

Under Iowa law, once the voters grant a city the authority to establish a city utility, the city need never again ask its residents to vote on the issue. The city could at anytime proceed to establish the utility without its residents knowing what the ultimate costs would be, who would operate the utility, how it would effect their rates and myriad other unanswered questions.

If a majority vote against the proposal, the city council would still have all the authority it needs under its home rule powers to study the issue further, perform a cost benefit analysis and develop a business plan that the voters would then have available to them to consider before voting on the issue again at some later date.

Let's say the city decided to study the issue further and develop a business plan. What then? There's no guarantee that after spending the money the city would be permitted to proceed. The city must petition the Iowa Utilities Board for a certificate of authority to operate the utility. The Iowa Utilities Board would have to rule it is in the public's best interest for the city to take control of the system from the current provider.

The question may be simple, but the implications are complex. The citizens of Iowa City should insist on straight answers to many hard questions before voting to establish a city utility.

Paula S. Dierenfeld

Des Moines