Taos Leaders Desperate

A panicked Rabbit, aka Luis Reyes, aka CEO KCEC, last week, said on KVOT, the Mayor’s radio station (one of four) that Propane had lost $160,000.00 in ten years or $16,000 per year. Where did that figure come from?

(The morning shock jock said on another show that nobody should own four radio stations. Hey what do Singer, Michael, and Brother Daniel think about that?)

A few years ago I was at the Coop meeting with Trustees when the auditors reported a cumulative loss of $4 million in the Propane biz—prior to the “alleged” separation. The auditor also pointed out that the Internet business had lost several hundred thousand dollars, too. Yet, some Trustees, like the Rabbit, continue telling “lies” to the media and members.

One Trustee, facing recall, is sending his partner around with his 1099 to counter rumors of excessive compensation from the Coop. A 1099 summarizes per diem pay for meetings but does not include travel: fancy hotel rooms, fancy restaurants, fancy friends at far away places. An estimate of $200,00 per year for trustee per diem and travel is probably less than the actual cost. Compensation and travel figures have risen as high as $300,000 in a given year. Conservatively, Trustees have been compensated over $2 million in the last ten years for per diem and travel.

According to a Coop tax return (See guidestar.org), the Trustees once spent more than $100,000 to showcase their wealth and pride at an annual meeting.

The current crisis is causing hysteria: Instead of saying to the members, “Let’s see what we find out at the PRC Hearings,” Reyes and the Trustees are attacking member-protestors in public. Reyes has slighted our intelligence—too dumb to fill out protest forms. He has accused some members and protestors of “outright lies.” Has he encouraged his minions—trustees, employees, friends–to attack peoples’ character in a whispering campaign or with slanderous remarks on the community blogs?

Now, we hear, employees at KCEC are being coerced into donating money for an advertisement as a sign of support for the Trustees, who are being recalled. Petitioners claim the Nine Trustees should be replaced—due to poor management skills and questionable ethics.

The Coop has lost, conservatively, ten million dollars in outside bets on Propane, Internet, and the Command Center. Now Broadband will add another $20 million to the deficit as loans and debt get piled higher and deeper on the members’ meters. That’s $30 million coming down the road at us.

Why are Reyes and the Trustees so desperate?

Members approved ventures into Propane and Internet but they were told if the projects lost money, the Trustees would shut the projects down. The Command Center is a monument to one man’s ego. The project gained momentum after a certain executive had a run in with the Town Cops. The Town’s E911 employees at the time resisted the project due to threats of a retaliatory nature from the Rabbit, they said.

(No wonder the Town Manager, Daniel, is in so much trouble with Luis’s buddy, Mayor Cordova. Young Daniel has advised the Town Council to avoid a lease with KCEC, due to nebulous negotiations. Now Luis can’t get an RUS loan, previously approved, but contingent on County and Town signatories. The County has said, “No, no.”)

According to Flavio, Reyes and some Trustees fear the PRC “might discover” that some trustees, executives, and “important—bidness–people” have been receiving special treatment from the Coop: discounted charges for rates and line extensions. When I covered the Coop, this trustee would say, check out the poles or woodpiles at so and so’s house. “That’s Coop property.” Or a Trustee might whisper, “So and so went to Miami, Vegas, San Antonio, LA, DC, Hot Springs, Orlando, Pagosa Springs, etc.” That was before Luisa or even Toby got elected to the current board.

As they say, “Everybody knows.” There are no secrets in Taos.

The Coop Culture has prospered on the backs of members due to growth and cash flow. But the growth has stopped, the cash flow declined. The CEO and Trustees are growing more desperate to cover up the past and present. The PRC hearings frighten them.

Luis is a Little Hub—the pied piper of Taos. “Sure, we’ll take you to Vegas and introduce you to the high rollers club. Get a massage. Take a break. We’re all in this pool together.”

Hey, we know all that. But you have forgotten that a few “mea culpas” or better yet, “mea maxima culpas” would turn the tide if accompanied by the truth. But Reyes and the Club of Nine are running scared from the PRC hearings in May. And Reyes ain’t , ultimately, “from here.”

The Coop estimates the cost of the hearings—due to advertisements, p.r. campaign, and legal fees—at close to $200,000. KCEC’s estimate of net benefits from the rate increases come to about $360,000 per month. So, the protesters are saving members and the Coop over $300,000 per month due to the delay. Why, due to pressure at the PRC, Tri-State has begun, allegedly,  negotiating with the Coop to pay for the Ojo Caliente delivery point per policy.

Put that carrot in your juicer, Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Parking Lot.

(Not to be outdone, witnesses tell us Town Councilor Rudy Abeyta is following in the footsteps of Mr. Parking lot–physical threats, sly slurs and innuendo, harassment of the fairer sex. You get the picture: Bully boys.)

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Dear Blogger/Webmaster,

As you may know, recent policy by state and municipal governments in New Mexico have sought to blur the lines between police and immigration enforcement. The unnoticed consequence of this has been that immigrant domestic violence victims have become fearful of law enforcement, making all of our communities less safe. Enlace Communitario, an Albuquerque-based non-profit, has developed a short 6.5 minute video designed to raise awareness of how these policies are working against these innocent women and their children

www.enlacenm.org/brokentrust

Broken Trust from Enlace Comunitario on Vimeo.