Agrees with Scott

To the editor:

I agree with Gov. Rick Scott that the taxpayers should not have to pay for the high-speed railway.

If the railway is a business, let the railway pay for it. The Osceola County commissioners seem to have a habit of using taxpayers’ money to finance projects. The railway is a business that wants to make profits. Do we benefit by these profits?

I think not. That’s like me wanting to open a business, going to the commissioners and asking them to fund it with taxpayers’ money and keeping the profits. Let the railway use its own money to fund it, not the taxpayers.

Richard Appleton
Kissimmee

Give it back

To the editor:

The reason most of us came to Florida was mainly for a better quality of life. This better quality of life has now come to the end of its rope.

Today, we’re facing a high unemployment rate, massive foreclosures, empty storefronts and one out of every four families dependent on food stamps to feed their family.

Now we have another problem added to the mix. Whether you’re a homeowner or a business owner, you now have a second mortgage, it’s called “KUA” (As my Latino friends call it, “KOOAAH”).

These are just some things that you all need to know about this city-owned utility:

They charge us $11.08 on every bill (customer charge) for billing, meter reading, lines and transformers. This number calculated with the amount of customers KUA has, comes out to approximately $742,000 per month. Isn’t that supposed to be the cost of doing business?

The city of Kissimmee received the following amounts of money from KUA:

• 2005: $8.2 million

• 2006: $8.5 million

• 2007: $9.4 million

• 2008: $9.3 million

• 2009: $9.0 million

• 2010: $9.3 million

• Total: $53.7 million

With all that money that the city has received, they are giving a mere $100,000 to the Council on Aging and KUA is giving $50,000 over a five-year period to the YMCA.

Now they are charging us additional deposits as if they were running out of money. Some of these deposits are as much as $500. After calling the Public Service Commission, I found out that they have no control of KUA due to the fact that they are government-owned. This means that KUA can keep your deposits forever. In other words, you get your money back when you move or die, whatever comes first. In an economy that has crippled the average family in Osceola, now we have a utility company sticking it to us and using our money as a stimulus.

When you call to question your bill, the first thing they do is send someone to your house to do an evaluation. You’re told that your windows, doors and your insulation in the attic are always the problem. After spending over $20,000 in renovations to the windows, doors and insulation after Hurricane Charley, the bills have definitely changed. They’ve become higher.

What about the power surges we’ve been getting? When you call KUA, the excuse has been the same for the past 20 years. “A squirrel was on the line and got fried.”

By now they must be almost extinct. Let’s get those squirrels on the endangered species list.

On a lighter note, KUA does a lot for the community and sponsors a lot of community activities. Wouldn’t it be nice if they did it with their money, not ours? Then again, it’s all ours.

When was the last time you and your family invited some of your friends to go to The Breakers in West Palm Beach for a week?

How about the Boca Raton Country Club?

Have you ever priced the stay per night? What if I told you it’s somewhere between $600 to $700 per night?

Do the math: 50 people at seven nights. That’s how much KUA pays for at least once a year. What about food and drinks? Who pays for them?

Do the ladies use the spa or nail salon? What about the men playing golf — is that all inclusive? I think not.

Again, I call for accountability and transparency.

What benefit do homeowners or businesses have paying these outrageous rates, especially if they are not operating or living within the city limits? If the city wants to own KUA, it should either keep it within the city limits or reduce our rates substantially for those out of them.

In conclusion, it is my opinion that KUA should do the right thing and return all the money from the customer charge of $11.08 retroactive for whatever time we’ve been their customers.

I will be the candidate not afraid to tackle the “old” way of doing things and I will be there for you, all of you, when I am elected.

Tony Ferentinos

Osceola County Commission candidate
District 3