Andy Dickey discusses the sale of the Murfreesboro Electric Department

The sales price of Murfreesboro Electric would be $245 million, with $43 million paid at closing and $202 million paid over 15 years at 3.3 percent interest. What that means is the citizens of Murfreesboro are financing this deal. The best business loan a regular person could get right now is a little over 4%. Even mortgage rates aren't that low! The annual payment would be $17.3 million for the 15-year period.

We are told those funds would be used for the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), or large capital projects such as roads, parks and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS also known as sweet heart deals. The current CIP calls for about $777 million in projects over five years, and there is a $430 million gap. 

We are selling one of the best assets the city has and it does not cover the bill for what our city leaders have planned. All this does is kick the can down the road on a tax raise. Our elected officials know that if they do not do this deal they will have to raise taxes again soon because the 40% raise was not enough. Please call your elected city council members and the mayor and tell them that they are not getting enough for this prized asset. They need to hear from you.