April Foolishness: DWP RATE HIKE - UPDATED, UNDONE, REDUX & REDONE

by smf for 4LAKids

On NPR and on the BBC – and apparently throughout the print media in Norway - there is a tradition to run a bogus story on April Fool’s Day. However this is official Census Enumeration Day*, so 4LAKids is avoiding the fictionally preposterous in favor of the factually preposterous.

To wit:

LA Times: L.A. Council, DWP fight over electricity rate hike

The short version is that the DWP Board and LA City Council are in mutual parallel unanimous disagreement over the proposed power rate hike and any hike is off ….for now.  In a somewhat sarcastic (sarfecious?) aside to a LAUSD staffer on this subject yesterday I questioned which body – the Council or the DWP Board – actually runs LA.  I suppose we won’t know until July 1.

However, in the two-day-long tradition of  in 4.5% DWP RATE HIKE APPROVED YESTERDAY = $2.58 MILLION ANNUAL INCREASE TO LAUSD ….Let’s do the math!

Note: When we did the math initially we used the 4.5% rate hilke figure; the LA Times uses the x¢ per kilowatt hour formula. This actually makes the math easier. We  had public school educations – we appreciate easier!

THE CONSTANT: LAUSD uses 430 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

THE VARIABLES: 

• The City Council proposed, approved by a one vote margin  and then unanimously withdrew a .6¢ per kilowatt hour rate increase.

An annual electric bill increase to LAUSD of: $2,580,000

• The Board of DWP Commissioners (all appointees of Mayor Tony) proposed and unanimously approved a .7¢ per hour rate increase.

An annual electric bill increase to LAUSD of: $3,010,000

• Mayor Tony has proposed a .8¢per kilowatt hour rate increase.

An annual electric bill increase to LAUSD of: $3,440,000

 

I will leave it to the teachers out there to assign this as algebra problems appropriate to the standards and curriculum for each grade.

• How many pencils does this equate to?
• …red rubber playground balls?
• How many art teachers?
• …library books?
• …school nurses?
• …furlough days?
• How many kids in overcrowded classrooms?

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NOTE: These are all First phase rate increases in what Mayor Tony proposes to be a four step process.   

DENIAL  ●  REJECTION ●  PETITION  ●  RECALL

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* The Founding Fathers ran the first census on Aug 2, 1790.  As any strict constructionist (leather bustier hidden under their judicial robes) will tell you: They knew better than do do stuff on AFD!