Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Equity Language topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tinmouth commissioners pare back 'equity' language in draft energy plan
Summary
Commissioners debated removing or rewording broad "equity" and "energy burden" language from the Enhanced Energy Plan, agreeing to retain a brief acknowledgement of local inequities and to ask the consultant to craft less ambiguous wording.
Commissioners spent substantial time reviewing the draft's equity section and many members said the current phrasing was too broad or ambiguous for Tinmouth. The Chair said she objected to "having the concept and the term equity shoehorned into an energy policy," and several members proposed narrowing or striking specific sentences while keeping a short acknowledgement that inequities exist locally.
Members agreed to remove a sentence that labeled energy burden in sweeping terms and to ask consultant Jeremy to reinsert a more locally accurate statement about how the town supports residents (for example, fuel assistance, pellet coupons). One commissioner recommended inserting a short fact that "Tinmouth has a relatively low energy burden," and tying equity actions to concrete town programs in the EEP's actions section rather than the policy statements. The commission directed Jeremy to rework wording for the next meeting rather than accept the boilerplate phrasing.
