COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
In a letter to the editor published in the Press Journal today, Vero Beach City Council candidate, Charlie Wilson, promised to spend $3 million of the “proceeds” from the sale of Vero Electric to “help save the Lagoon.” Wilson’s belated concern for the Lagoon is admirable, but he is again making promises he cannot keep.
Five years ago, when Wilson first ran for a seat on the Council, he assured voters the electric system could be sold within a year, netting the City of $90 million, not including some $30 million unencumbered reserve funds.
More recently, when it was believed the City would net just a few million dollars from the sale, but would be left with some $30 million in electric system reserve funds, the consensus of the Council was to use the money to restructure the City’s pension funds. In fact, Pilar Turner has given the opportunity to convert the pension funds as one of the primary and compelling reasons why concluding the sale is crucial to the financial health of the City.
Today, no one knows whether a sale would leave the City with any electric system reserves, given the likely costs of securing contingent liabilities. No one knows! Certainly, Charlie Wilson cannot know there will be $3 million left for what he proposes.
While out on the promise-making trail, Wilson told the Taxpayers Association that, if elected, he can guarantee he will complete the electric sale by the end of 2016. Promises. Promised. Promises.
Indian River Guardian 
Let’s see is this part of the $43,000,000 that FPL is paying and counting as part of the sales price and then asking us to repay that money with a surcharge? Or is FPL coming up with another $3,000,000 that they give us that me must repay with another surcharge? So hard to follow those 4-5 year surcharges!!!
I clearly remember one promise Wilson made that he is not keeping – and he made it publicly in the Pee Pee Jay. Wilson promised us, a while back, that he would NEVER run for political office again and….well, you know the rest of the story.