After Mr. Cashion stated our financial predicament a commissioner challenged his numbers stating he was using old numbers. I challenged the new numbers, which are based on 20 percent growth which is unrealistic.

The commissioner challenged me and stated it’s not 20 percent, then asked Davidson finance director if the number was 20 percent. He responded “just under 20 percent” and I stated “it’s 19.9%”. My perception is that most of our current town leadership believe we can WILL ourselves to 19.9% growth. If we don’t have 19.9 percent growth with MI-Connection our debt will be higher than $2 million. This is why I pressed 2 weeks ago for contingency plans from the town on what we’re going to do when we don’t hit these unattainable numbers. We need a plan.

The other question I asked during this meeting is transparency and oversight. The only numbers we see from MI-Conn are very high level; facility based expenses=$4.5 million, marketing expenses=$2.7 million, administration expenses=$2.1 million. What is inside these big buckets of dollars? What are we paying in salaries? What are we paying in entertainment, travel, promotions, other areas that need oversight?

The point is this is our money. Our community is on the hook for $2 million and we’re told that we can’t audit the books of our investment? We deserve to know; we are paying dearly for it. We also need a plan on what we’re going to do under different scenarios this year and into next year. Give us real dollars, not RGUs or triple-plays or slithery double-talk. As others have said, Davidson is blessed with many creative and intelligent doers who will jump in and get us through this. Our current leadership should recognize this and leverage these resources. What we’ve tried up to now isn’t working. It feels like we’re doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. That is frightening.

John Kennedy
Davidson

I have said in the past and will say again, we have resources in this town that can give us good, competent advice (i.e. Bobby Cashion) why not use it instead of our high priced consultants. The seriousness of this matter seems to be falling on some deaf ears at Town Hall.

It is not a great relief to be told that it is “only” going to cost us $12 million instead of $30 million over the next 5 years. Ignoring the historical data of the cable industry as well as the current economic condition (requiring 20% growth a year!)only causes great uncertainty about our town’s financial condition. I did drop my long-term service with another carrier for phone and internet service with MI, maybe it will help.

All I would like is for the citizens to be provided substantive answers, not “we’re working on it”
On a side note, thank you to Rodney and Andy for asking the hard questions. I hope real answers will follow.

MI-Connection’s proposed pair of budgets are, at face value, inaccurate and ill-prepared. There are no downside contingencies for failure to meet the growth projections….or for summer or winter storms, for that matter. There is a real prospect that MI-Connection will be coming back to the two towns, “hats in hand,” asking for yet more money before next year’s budget is final.

MI-Connection is putting the onus on “the people” or the citizens of Davidson and Mooresville. They have virtually no marketing built into this year’s budget, instead relying upon a “grassroots, guerrilla marketing strategy that will blame “the people” for not supporting its business.

The use of elected officials to “market” this private business enterprise borders on the illegal and I am of the opinion that lawsuits, costly to defend (if even defensible) will be waged against the towns in the coming year as they attempt to “favor” MI-Connection over the likes of Dish, DirecTV, AT&T, Verizon, TWC and all the others providing competing products in the marketplace.

I, for one, will be in attendance, even though it is costing me a half-day’s work to do so. If given the opportunity, I will ask the questions that MI-Connection and the Elected Officials of Davidson and Mooresville prefer not be asked. Please join me in this effort.

There seems to be a sentiment amongst staff and elected officials that subscription to MI-Connection should be a consideration in determining how much citizens pay for basic services. As the article states, one audience member asked if she could get a break on the new solid-waste fee because she was “already doing her part” by being a “triple-play” customer. Surprisingly, the board seemed to embrace that idea when presented, and then did so again later in the meeting.

So, we’re going to base our tax rates on whether you subscribe to MI-Connection? Really? The slippery slope analogy is overused, but it is apt in this case. How about I get a break on my taxes since I don’t have the police or fire departments coming to my house? Why don’t we charge citizens if the police or fire departments do come to their house?

Some think that “connectivity” (i.e. cable and internet) is essential infrastructure that can only be provided by government. I agree with the first part of that thought, but strongly disagree with the second part. But, let’s run with that line of thinking. The government rightly provides water and sewer service, and they can track how much of this service is consumed by each user. But, if someone has a well or a septic system, they don’t get a bill from Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities. If you don’t use it, you don’t pay. If connectivity can only be provided by the government, then let the users of the service pay for it and – just as is the case with water and sewer. If the government is not covering its costs then raise the rates. (This is what is presently happening with the water and sewer departments of both Mooresville and Troutman). That way, only those who choose to use the service pay for the service. I think that is fair.

For the record, my family uses one of the three MI-Connection services (and may go to two).

There also seems to be a growing sentiment that it is “our duty” as citizens of Davidson to subscribe to MI-Connection. Many times either the staff or an elected official said things like “doing your part” last evening. There are many people who have decided that it makes sense to be a MI-Connection subscriber; many others have made a different decision. Whether one subscribes to MI-Connection does not determine the level of one’s “patriotism” towards Davidson.

Service to one’s town comes in many forms. In many cases, dissent is the strongest form of service. The majority of citizens choose not to get involved in their town government, so anyone who takes the time to get involved and speak up should be thanked, whether you agree with them or not. There are many examples throughout history of what happens when everyone just goes along with the government instead of speaking out.

I normally would not single out a private citizen by name in a public forum, but last night Bobby Cashion spoke so that he could get his thoughts on the record, so I think it is OK that I mention him by name. Back in 2007 Bobby and many others, myself included, spoke out strongly against the purchase of MI-Connection. We pointed out the many flaws in the various consultants’ reports, and the great risk that Davidson was needlessly taking on to buy a cable company. To me, this is service to one’s community.

So, it is a bit troublesome to me that when Bobby spoke up last night and offered his recommendations, and a less optimistic view of MI-Connection’s finances, his viewpoint was met with less than welcoming ears. The truth is that Bobby Cashion specializes in finance and has been pretty accurate in his forecasts of MI-Connection. MI-Connection does not have a similar track record of putting out accurate numbers. I hope Bobby is wrong, but our town leadership should take his opinions more seriously and prepare accordingly. We can’t put numbers out there that are flat-out wrong. If MI-Connection misses its numbers this fiscal year there is going to be a large confidence gap next year.

I’ll close on a more positive note. Last night a resident of Davidson’s West Side spoke up, and in her comments stated that not only did many of her neighbors not use MI-Connection, they did not have internet access at all. If there are residents in our town who do not have broadband connectivity run to their house, then it should be run there. Every house in our town should have basic infrastructure, including not only water, power and sewer, but also broadband connectivity. It strikes me as odd that in the wealthiest town in Mecklenburg County there is a significant population that cannot access the internet. If the West Side does not have connectivity; bring it to them. If they cannot afford it, provide it for free. Jobs are a big issue on the west side of Davidson, and having broadband is essential these days for education and jobs.

We’ve talked a lot about using MI-Connection for economic development. Economic development is not only luring companies to our town. It is also using MI-Connection to help ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate in the workforce of the 21st century. I think it would be a great story if MI-Connection provided broadband access to the poorer sections of our town. It makes the annual subsidies easier to stomach if we are putting the system to good use.

Rodney Graham is a business owner who lives in the St. Alban’s neighborhood.