I formally requested a redacted copy stripped of sensitive information of the City's contract with SunEdison in July 2015 so that an independent assessment of the risk to the city could be performed. My request was denied by the City (and upheld by the Texas Attorney General's office) on the grounds that the contract contained private competitive and trade secret information.
Now with SunEdison's stock price at around $2 per share, shedding assets, defending itself from multiple lawsuits, and lenders refusing to provide new loans, the City staff and elected leaders tell us not to worry, everything is fine and the city is at no risk financially and there are other sources of electricity under contract.
This reminds me of the Lucy and Linus scenario where Lucy tells Linus to trust her, she will hold the football while he kicks it.
It also brings to mind the Ronald Reagan adage, "trust, but verify". Show us the contracts so that the citizens of Georgetown can make their own assessments about the risk to our future electricity rates and supplies.
Let your City leaders know that you want transparency in city government and for them to release the relevant contracts. If they still hide behind legal mumbo-jumbo, talk with your state legislators and advocate for additional openness in the state's open records laws.
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