To the editor:
A recent social media post advocating for a Municipal Utilities Commission in Luverne relied on figures from 2019 through 2022 to argue that electric utility funds are being over-transferred.
However, a closer look at these numbers, and what was left out, reveals a misleading narrative.
First, the time frame selected (2019-2022) reflects a period under a different city administrator and finance director, as well as a city council that included a current member of the Charter Amendment Committee.
Second, and more importantly, the post completely ignores what has happened since.
From 2023 through 2025: Utility transfers dropped to 9.79% of operating revenue, down nearly 7% from the 16.72% cited in the social media post.
The electric utility’s cash reserves grew substantially over those same years.
Why weren’t these recent, positive trends included in the post? Because showing that utility transfers have decreased and reserves have grown under current management directly contradicts the message pushed by the Charter Amendment Committee.
When evaluating a major change to our local government structure, voters deserve transparency and complete information, not selective history designed to settle political grievances.
We encourage everyone to research the actual financial records by going to tiny.cc/charter before deciding how to vote.
Mike Cox and Evan Verbrugge,
Luverne