THE GAZETTE
Page A-6
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 r
Montgomery County trying to keep Pepco rate appeals in a local court Gaithersburg joining county in its appeal instead of filing separately n
BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County wants the four appeals of Pepco’s latest rate increase heard locally, but the utility company and the Public Service Commission want Baltimore City Circuit Court to decide the cases. Pepco and the PSC have asked Montgomery County Circuit Court to transfer the county’s appeal to Baltimore City Circuit Court. That’s where the utility, the Office of People’s Counsel and AARP also have filed appeals on the Maryland Public Service Commission’s July 12 approval of higher rates. Montgomery County has asked Baltimore City Circuit Court to transfer the cases filed there to Montgomery County Circuit Court. All parties want the four appeals heard in one court but at issue is which court ultimately will decide if the PSC’s decision to grant Pepco higher rates and an upfront surcharge will stand. In its July ruling, the PSC granted $27.9 million of a $60.8 million request by Pepco for higher rates, adding about
“The biggest issue has been the cost of street lighting, because there are separate rates for power to street lights.” Lynn Board, Gaithersburg city attorney
$2.41 to the average customer’s monthly bill. It also granted the electric utility $24 million of a $192 million request for an upfront surcharge, the first ever awarded by the commission. Known as a grid resiliency charge, the approved surcharge would tack an additional 6 cents on monthly customer bills in the first year and would fund additional improvements to Pepco’s infrastructure. The charges went into effect on July 12. Montgomery County Attorney Marc P. Hansen said the appeals should be heard where the bulk of those affected by the PSC ruling live, Montgomery County. Pepco serves about 536,000 customers in Maryland, of which about 312,000 are in Montgomery County, according to the company. “Montgomery County Cir-
cuit Court is the most appropriate venue,” Hansen said. “This is where the ratepayers are.” Pepco, in a statement provided by spokesman Marcus Beal, said it filed in the Circuit Court of Baltimore City because the Public Service Commission and the Office of People’s Counsel, which is an advocate for the state’s residential utility customers, are located there. “This is in line with Pepco’s previous activities involving judicial review,” the statement said. “Three of the four parties that have filed an appeal also have filed in the Circuit Court of Baltimore City.” Regina Davis, a spokeswoman for the PSC, wrote in an email that the commission’s motion to transfer Montgomery County’s case to Baltimore City argued that Baltimore is where the first appeal was filed and is the most convenient to the various parties. The Office of People’s Counsel said it supports trans-
ferring Montgomery’s case to Baltimore City Circuit Court. A hearing in Baltimore City Circuit Court on the request to transfer the cases to Montgomery County is scheduled for Oct. 18. No hearing has been scheduled in Montgomery County Circuit Court, according to court records. The city of Gaithersburg has said that it will join Montgomery County in its appeal of Pepco’s new rates instead of forming its own appeal. The mayor and council decided on this approach in a closed session on Aug. 19 and made the decision public at a regular meeting on Sept. 3. However, Hansen said Tuesday that the city has not yet shared its plans with his office. According to City Attorney Lynn Board, the city is concerned about the increased power costs. “The biggest issue has been the cost of street lighting, because there are separate rates for power to street lights,” she said. The higher rates would mean a $40,000 increase in power costs over previous years. The city has planned for a higher power bill in its budget, Board said, since the case was in progress when the budget was drawn. Staff Writer Sylvia Carignan contributed to this story kalexander@gazette.net scarignan@gazette.net
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Elrich committed to propose a wage bill, even if he is alone n
Measure would raise county minimum to $12 an hour
BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
With or without co-sponsors, one Montgomery County councilman says he will introduce a bill to nearly double the county’s minimum wage. Seeking to close the gap between the county’s high cost of living and actual wages, Councilman Marc B. Elrich is drafting legislation to increase the county minimum wage from the federally mandated $7.25 an hour to $12 an hour. “Everybody knows you can’t live on minimum wage,” he said. “But everybody knows that $12 an hour isn’t really a living wage either. So I’m trying to narrow the gap.” Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park said he plans to introduce the bill Sept. 24. Elrich announced his bill two weeks ago and had planned to introduce it this week. His goal was to let the council tweak the legislation as it moved through the process, he said. But in his discussions with the business community and colleagues, he decided he could address their concerns before he introduced the bill. He included a provision to phase in the increase over several years and language that keeps the bill in line with existing exclusions to the federal minimum wage. “I’m hoping that some of the changes will get me some cosponsors,” he said. As of Monday, a day before Elrich was going to introduce his bill, he had no co-sponsors. With or without co-sponsors, however, he said he will bring his bill before the council to start discussion on raising wages. Across the state and nation, lawmakers are pushing to raise minimum wages. A bill by former Sen. Robert Garagiola (D-Dist. 15) of Germantown to raise Maryland’s minimum wage to $10 an hour died in committee in the 2013 state legislative session. But the effort is likely to continue in 2014. Raise Maryland, a single-issue
campaign focused on increasing Maryland’s minimum wage, plans to push for a bill next session that raises the wage to $10.10 per hour. Matt Hanson, campaign coordinator, said the bill is essentially the same as last session’s $10 wage, adjusted for inflation. Increasing Maryland’s minimum wage has drawn support from politicians including Rep. John Delaney (D-Dist. 6) of Potomac and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, who is pursuing the Democratic nomination for governor. But $10 an hour does not go as far in Montgomery County as it does in some of the state’s rural regions, Elrich said. According to the 2012 Maryland Self Sufficiency Standard by the Maryland Community Action Partnership, a single adult with no children needs to earn $17.07 per hour to meet basic needs in Montgomery County, such as food, rent and clothing. In a two-adult home with children, each adult must earn $19.62 per hour and single parents need to earn even more, as much as $36.90 per hour, to meet basic needs. Montgomery spends a significant chunk of its money on health and human services to subsidize basic needs for its lower-income residents. For the current fiscal year, which started July 1, the county looks to spend more than $253 million on health and human services. “Everything we spend is basically a wage subsidy,” Elrich said. Between subsidies for housing, child care, food and health care, the county is paying with taxes what should be paid with wages, he said. “You think you’re overtaxed. The easiest way to reduce services is to start increasing the amount of pay people working local jobs make,” he said. “I don’t want a welfare state, but the cause is not people not working, the cause is the wages being paid.” On Monday, Council President Nancy Navarro’s chief of staff, Adam Fogel, said Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring had not received a copy of Elrich’s bill for introduction on Sept. 24. Typically, the council president meets with staff to set the agenda a week in advance.
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