In justification of a proposed utility rate hike the CEO of Cleveland Utilities cited a March issue of a regional magazine that declares Cleveland Utilities rates are 18.7 percent below the national average. This is not a new tactic but a worn out one that gets played over and over again and not only with a utility hike but with property taxes.
According to data from 2008-2012 from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bradley County’s median individual wage of 24,627 is 18.9 percent below the national individual median wage. It gets worse when looking at the median wage for a household. The median wage for a household in Bradley County for the same years was 40,614 or 30.6 percent below the national median of 53,046. The average household income for Bradley County during the same period at 54,979 was 32.8% lower than the national average of 73,034.
So the next time someone stresses our utility rates or our taxes are lower in this area of the country kindly remind them so are wages.
Mike Lynn