Letter to the Editor
To The Editor:
When our community works together, we can solve our community problems. The mayor and board of alderpersons are responsible for HSUD (Holly Springs Utility District) and they are members of our community. As citizens, we all have a responsibility to each other and to our community. I have read the TVA reports and the TVPPA assessment, attended public meetings, and listened to the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) meeting online. I am compelled to offer solutions that will help us make HSUD better.
1. Find someone who is willing to take on the unique challenges that HSUD has. They should be honest, speak truthfully, and stick to the facts at hand. We need someone who can lead and has the courage to follow when necessary and a General Manager (GM) who knows how to build relationships with others to create the solutions we need and implement them via teamwork with individuals and other teams.
2. Our priority is the health and safety of our current HSUD workforce. All our men and women working for us need to have the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to do their jobs safely without risking their lives or livelihoods. No members of our community should be asked to risk their health and safety to provide services to our community while making a living for their families. Safety practices and procedures must be adhered to, and there must be training for everyone without exception. Anything less is unacceptable. Safety is not an either/or choice. It is the only choice.
3. The GM must be responsible for creating a team and developing a written plan involving the approval of all stakeholders. The team must include Subject Matter Experts (SME) in right of way, utility distributions, accounting, customer service, disaster recovery, substation engineering, software, safety, training and development, and human resources. This includes prioritizing risks, identifying talent, and communicating effectively to create solutions that can be implemented immediately to inspire confidence within our workforce. The GM is responsible for providing leadership to department heads and supervisors that hold them accountable to their direct reports. The GM must inspire confidence in their abilities with all stakeholders, employees, the mayor, and the board of aldermen, contractors, and utility service providers.
4. No GM or team of SME can solve our HSUD problems without the proper resources. The necessary resources we need are controlled by our local, county, state, and federal governments, which are controlled by us, the voters of our community. As citizens, we need to know and understand the creation of local power companies and the role and responsibilities of TVA and TVPPA. The current condition of HSUD is dire and continues to deteriorate even while improvements are being implemented. Our problems are not unsolvable. However, they will require a collective effort from our community and local, county, state, and federal governments. We did not get here overnight, and there is plenty of blame to go around, but I am not interested in establishing who is to blame. I am interested in creating solutions that will improve HSUD and the quality of life within our community. I am willing to work with anyone who knows the facts and wants to create credible solutions.
Wayne Jones Holly Springs