Report details costly decisions, questionable spending at co-op

From statesman, December 21, 2008...

As former General Manager Bennie Fuelberg told it, the Pedernales Electric Cooperative managed its members' money and debt well while offering low rates and reliable service.

Except for the service part, an independent review of the co-op's books tells a different story.

"Things weren't quite the way you thought they were," Fuelberg's successor, Juan Garza, said Wednesday, a day after the report by Navigant Consulting Inc. was released. It detailed a history of management gone awry at the co-op, with little or no oversight by its board of directors.

Garza said publication of the lengthy review gave him a sense of relief, releasing him from the "ghosts" of the co-op's past and freeing him "to move even quicker" in implementing reform.

Read more...