Farmers call the last act of desperation before bankruptcy and starvation "eating your seed corn." The only reason a private company would purchase a municipal utility would be with the knowledge that it generates profit ("Duluth's natural-gas utility: To sell or not to sell?" Jan. 19). If Duluth sold its natural-gas utility, the private owner would have a virtual monopoly and no incentive to keep rates down, to improve services or to invest in infrastructure.
The proposal to sell off a portion of Comfort Systems, a money-
making enterprise, for a one-time infusion of cash seems like the definition of a short-term solution to a long-term problem. And a lousy one at that since it would not fix, but rather would worsen, the structural problems in the city's budget.
State LGA, or local government aid, has been cut, meaning less income to Duluth. Also cut were state income taxes, meaning less outgo from residents. If we want to keep our city vital, we may have to adjust local taxes -- meaning more outgo from residents and more income to Duluth -- to take up the slack.
Can anyone in this city explain how selling off revenue-producing assets would serve us in the long term?
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John C. Jelatis
Duluth
