MTA must be accountable for how it spends member/owners money

I noticed with interest that the member/owners of Matanuska Telephone Association voted to have the general manager’s salary and benefits package made public. I was appalled when one of the long-standing board members indicated his surprise that the owners of MTA did not take the board’s advice and vote no on that issue. He went on to say that he thought the general manager gave a “good report” at the annual meeting, as if that report justified the rather excessive salary and benefits package the board has given the general manager. Both comments indicated to this owner that the board is out of touch with the owners. I believe all owners should have easy access to all financial information because, as MTA likes to remind us, we are member/owners. We can’t be legitimate member/owners and only be provided censored or partial financial information. After seeing what the salary/benefits package for the general manager was, no wonder they wanted to keep that information “confidential.”

I have significant concerns regarding the “governance” form of management adopted by the board. This management concept is usually used in governments and private businesses such as banks. Under this system the board has basically passed its responsibility to make the best decisions — both fiscally and operationally — for all owners to the general manager, thus, making MTA a form of dictatorship.

It doesn’t matter whether the general manager is good or bad. If the only ideas a general manager hears or listens to are his, he soon believes those ideas are the only options. A co-op, by its very nature, must be both open and transparent with owner participation encouraged. The board must be willing to discuss and debate the issues in an open forum. Differences of opinion must be heard and encouraged. Recently I asked one of the board members what he knew about a $300,000 commitment made by MTA to the Palmer ice rink. I’d been asked that question by other member/owners because they were aware of my prior association with MTA. The board member said he knew nothing about it but would look into it and get back to me. As a member/owner, I believe that board member was trying to do the job we elected him to do. It is my understanding that in his efforts to obtain the answer to my question he met with considerable resistance from his fellow board members. In this owners’ opinion, the commitment of that much money to an ice rink should have been a board decision. All board members should have been aware of the commitment and been able to respond with accurate information to the member/owners. Palmer already has an established ice rink. For several years the community of Big Lake has been working to raise money for a sheet of ice in their area. Perhaps with an open discussion by the board, the $300,000 could have been better spent assisting the Big Lake community. In the last borough election voters were asked to approve a bond issue to provide an ice rink in the Willow/Talkeetna area. The voters said no. Perhaps with an open discussion by the MTA board the $300,000 could have been better spent in that area. Maybe the general manager doesn’t believe residents in those areas are legitimate owners. The board, however, should know better.

The decision by the board to compensate the general manager with such a high salary and benefits package makes me question what criteria the board used to warrant that level of compensation. This owner believes that board needs to be reminded that their responsibility is to hire a general manager of an REA co-op — not a President of a Fortune 500 Company.

MTA is facing serious competition within its service area. MTA’s customer base has declined approximately 25 percent in spite of the fact that the Mat-Su Borough is one of the fastest growing areas in the state. Long-standing customers, particularly business customers, now have options regarding where they receive service. One of the important deciding factors is cost. Generally, MTA is not able to be price-competitive and, thus, customers are leaving MTA for other providers. Even if a customer wanted to be “loyal” to MTA, running a business, or managing a household budget, requires management of all costs.

All of the above directly affect my Capital Credits. Capital Credits are to a co-op something like stock dividends. I acknowledge that the figuring and paying of Capital Credits is fairly complex but for this discussion we can look at them like stock dividends. Since MTA is a not-for-profit company, any left over money (income less expenses) is allocated to its member/owners. We receive a letter to that affect every year. When we look at the few pieces of financial information made public thus far, i.e., $300,000 to Palmer ice rink; general manager’s salary and benefits package; and, the recent decision by the general manager to give each MTA employee a $1,000 bonus, we have a significant reduction in the “pot” of money left over to be allocated to the member/owners. Potentially, these — and other important financial decisions — are made by one person; the general manager. At this point, I question whether that individual is making self-serving decisions or decisions in the best interest of all member/owners.

MTA employees are very well paid and have excellent benefits. Many of those employees want to and do provide excellent customer service. However, no matter how much you pay an employee or how much that employee wants to provide good service, the employee cannot do it without an open management team and a governing body willing to listen to the member/owners.

I suggest that the board review the meaning of a cooperative and then fulfill those duties and responsibilities we, the owners, elected them to do. We did not elect them to solely attend “business” meetings in Hawaii. We did not elect them to turn over their responsibilities to one individual. We elected them to represent all member/owners best interests; to make fiscally conservative financial decisions as MTA’s customer base declines; and, to encourage open debate with member/owner involvement.

Faye Palin lives in Wasilla and retired from MTA as the vice president of customer service.