Responsible Harvest of Clinton County Inc. released the following letter on Sunday regarding wind farms in Clinton County.
On Friday, June 7, 2019, a joint session of the Clinton County Commissioners and Clinton County Council was held to discuss the comprehensive budget; not all of the members were present. At the meeting, a Comprehensive Financial Plan for years 2017-2023 was presented by a representative from the accounting and advisory firm Baker Tilly, with select county department heads left out of the meeting for whatever reason.
The material presented showed the estimated financial situation for the county moving forward through 2023. The material painted a grim financial picture for the county in the future, assuming all things remain constant (which they never do). However, in the various projections used throughout the report, there are estimates based on if the “County accepts the offer from EC&R Development, LLC in regards to the Wind Farm Proposal.” Of course, the material highlights the estimated financial benefits should the county begin to receive wind farm money beginning in 2021 with no real explanation of how these numbers were derived or the costs associated therewith.
It is interesting that Baker Tilly would even be able to develop such an analysis, as no proposal has ever even been submitted for the public to review. In 2017, the Clinton County Commissioners enacted a moratorium on industrial wind development altogether, so the fact that there have clearly been private discussions among certain elected officials on any proposed project is highly inappropriate.
When it was originally decided that a comprehensive financial study would be conducted, it was decided that Clinton County would hire an unbiased company to conduct the study rather than have the wind farm company hire a company of their choosing. Ultimately, Baker Tilly was apparently chosen, without any public input. Baker Tilly is a company that recently joined with Umbaugh and Associates, a company that has conducted numerous similar studies across Indiana on behalf of wind farm companies.
In addition to the forgoing problems, it is completely misleading to narrowly highlight any benefits of a project only through 2023, when the numerous other negative impacts associated with industrial wind development that were not addressed would last for 50+ years into the future.
Sincerely,
Responsible Harvest of Clinton County Inc.