My name is Thomas Burns and I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself.

I’m running for an open position on the Hull Municipal Light Board. I’ve had the honor of being elected several times as an MLP board member since 2005, a responsibility for which I’m proud to serve the citizens and electric ratepayers of Hull.

My training and background as a civil engineer has been an asset to the light board for many years and I wish to continue serving the town in that capacity. My primary charge as an MLP board member is to ensure that the highest level of reliable electrical service is provided at the most reasonable rate possible.

To this end, I encourage Hull ratepayers to vote against funding of the emergency generator initiative any further due to what I believe are excessive costs that provide only minor, if any, relief at all to our service reliability. The perceived need to shelter in place during the COVID pandemic has long since passed and the decreased cost of funding the emergency generators could easily offset set any future rate increase. This brings me to the current electric rates that MLP board members are contemplating. During my tenure, we have had only three rate increases, the last being 11 years ago in 2014. The MLP board is actively reviewing a current increase of only 4.3%.

In 1994 the town manager appointed himself to the position of light plant manager. I feel that this presents a clear conflict of interest, resulting in budgetary manipulation where millions of ratepayer dollars have been transferred to the town’s budget. This lack of budgetary transparency has negatively impacted the MLP rates and most certainly resulted in this current rate increase due to the town manager transferring MLP funds to the town’s budget. We, the MLP board members, have presented this fiduciary conflict of increase issue to the former and current town manager without any satisfactory resolution.

When elected, I will endeavor to ensure that the light plant manager position is independent and will not be conflicted. The town manager currently operates the light plant affairs, but an independent light plant manager would work exclusively for the benefits of the ratepayers. I petition Hull voters to change the governance model of the MLP to its previous status as initially instituted by the Massachusetts law contained in Chapter 164, where a career electrical engineer with professional certifications, contract management skills, and who is exclusively dedicated in working for the Hull electric ratepayers, manages the MLP. The current management practice is not good governance and needs to be changed. Please vote at town meeting for this positive change for lower electric rates and a governance structure that is used by nearly 90% of all municipal light plants in Massachusetts.

Also, I ask for your vote on Election Day as your light plant representative and I will ensure that your ratepayer dollars are spent on Hull electric initiatives, providing the most effective dollars spent.

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