4/20/1976 - Laserfiche WebLink

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i LOWELL LOHMAN, PRESIDENT OF TREASURE COAST UTILITIES, INC., AN- SWERED THAT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE 156 CUSTOMERS, SOME OF WHOM ARE ON THE WATER SYSTEM ONLY, AND HE FELT POSSIBLY THERE HAD BEEN A TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR, BUT COMMISSIONER Loy POINTED OUT THAT THE FIGURES SHOWN ACTUALLY ADD UP TO 199, COMMISSIONER MASSEY ASKED IF THE RATE INCREASE WAS BASED ON LAST YEAR S OPERATION BY SOUTHERN GULF UTILITIES AND HAD THERE BEEN ANY IMPROVE- MENTS MADE TRYING TO CORRECT THE SYSTEM WHICH WOULD REPRESENT AN UNUSUAL EXPENSE, ATTORNEY HENDERSON ANSWERED THAT THE RATE INCREASE WAS BASED ON PROJECTED EXPENSES FOR TREASURE COAST UTILITIES, AND MR. WERZYN OF SOUTHERN GULF UTILITIES STATED THAT NO.IMPROVEME NTS HAD BEEN MADE. ATTORNEY HENDERSON NOTED THAT THE STATEMENT FOR SOUTHERN GULF UTILITIES WAS SUBMITTED TO SHOW THE LOSS THE CURRENT RATES ARE PRODUCING, AND STATED HE FELT THEIR LOSS WOULD BE SIMILAR IF THEY CONTINUED WITH THE EXISTING RATES. COMMISSIONER Loy POINTED OUT THAT ATTORNEY HENDERSON HAD SAID THE PROPOSED RATE STRUCTURE FOR BOTH SEWER AND WATER WOULD PRODUCE BETWEEN $35,000 AND $40,000 GROSS REVENUE, BUT ACCORDING TO HER CALCULATIONS, THE REVENUE WOULD BE IN EXCESS OF $50,000. ATTORNEY HENDERSON STATED THIS DID NOT AGREE WITH THEIR CALCULA- TIONS AND URGED THE BOARD TO CONSIDER THAT SOUTHERN GULF UTILITIES HAS AN APPROXIMATE RATE BASE IN THE ORIGINAL COST OF THE EQUIPMENT OF OVER $100,000. MR. WERZYN STATED THAT IT IS CONSIDERABLY MORE THAN THAT AND WOULD AMOUNT TO APPROXIMATELY $223,000, PLUS THE $70,000 TO BE INVESTED IN A NEW PLANT. ATTORNEY HENDERSON SAID HE FELT THAT THE RATE OF RETURN SHOULD BE FIGURED ON THE ORIGINAL COST PLUS THE COST TO BE INCURRED. THE BOARD FELT THAT DEPRECIATION MUST BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, AND CHAIRMAN SIEBERT STATED THAT HE FELT THE RATE OF RETURN SHOULD BE BASED ON TREASURE COAST UTILITIES' INVESTMENT AND NOT NECESSARILY ON A 16 YEAR OLD INVESTMENT OF SOUTHERN GULF UTILITIES. ATTORNEY HENDERSON STATED THAT THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION LOOKS AT THE BOOK VALUE TO FIGURE THE RATE OF RETURN, COMMISSIONER LOY NOTED THAT IN THE LETTER DATED MARCH 23RD WRITTEN BY DEAN LUETHJE OF BEINDORF & ASSOCIATES TO TREASURE COAST UTILITIES GIVING AN ESTIMATE FOR A SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM, THE WORD "NEW" WAS CROSSED OUT AND THE WORD "USED" INSERTED. 4 APR `2 0 197 25 ?Ayr 259 a: