In an item posted on the blog of Sarasota Power, a coalition of citizens urging Sarasota to aggressively pursue a renewable energy future, one writer lays out the “top 10 reasons” the City Commission should not vote to accept the 30-year FPL franchise agreement it will consider Monday evening.
The post — written by Don Hall of Transition Sarasota, a group that aims to be “a catalyst for rebuilding local community resilience and self-reliance in the face of peak oil, climate change, and economic crisis” — lists the positive outcomes should the commission reject the agreement. According to Hall, voting no would:
- Eliminate FPL’s hidden tax on residents, money it passes on to the city in exchange for a guarantee that it alone will provide power to the city.
- “Create a more equitable tax structure,” because FPL’s flat tax affects low-income residents disproportionately.
- Give Sarasota the “independence” to dictate its own energy future.
- “Spur innovation by increasing competition.”
- Show the commission is not acting out of “fear.”
- Help keep wealth circulating within Sarasota, instead of leaving the community.
- Eventually, this leads to greater revenue for the city.
- Allow the city to become as green as it wants.
- “Help the city meet its sustainability goals.”
- Prevent the city from being locked into an energy arrangement that will endure till 2040.
Hall fleshes out each point, and it’s well worth a read for anyone who’s been tracking the Sarasota-FPL negotiations.
