To the Editor:
Recently, a city spokesperson announced that Bayonne and two other communities had struck a deal with a company to supply electricity to PSE&G. For several years, various organizations have offered similar plans and I for one chose not to participate. The operative word in the previous sentence is “chose”.
Last week, a letter was sent out by Mr. Malloy informing residents of the impending change to our PSE&G bills. I fully understand that purchasing a commodity in bulk can be cost effective, but I have difficulty accepting the city’s decision to alter a portion of MY bill without my permission. If I was told I could “opt in” that would be fine, but the city chose to do the reverse. They signed all of us up and we have to alert the company that we don’t wish to participate. Speaking with several friends and neighbors I can see why the city did so. At least 80% had no clue about the impending change to their bills. “What are you talking about?” or “What letter?” were the most common retorts I heard. In my opinion, the public’s reaction is exactly what the city expected and hoped for – complete ignorance of the proposal. Is the city overstepping its bounds? If this is a legally acceptable practice, what’s next? Once again, It’s not the deal that disturbs me, it’s the rather underhanded way in which it was presented. Surely, Bayonne’s citizens can be trusted to make a decision when presented with the facts and options available to them.
BETTY McGEEHAN