Check out the Article by clicking on the Forbes picture.  On October 12th, Forbes ranked Rocky Mount, NC among the top 10 most impoverished cities in the country.   Two local leaders that certainly have a vested interest in dispelling the article are Mayor David Combs and Chamber CEO Eddie Baysden, both downplayed the Forbes article when they were quoted in the Rocky Mount Telegram.

Hmm, the same Mayor that told ElectriCities CEO Graham Edwards, “Good Job” at a recent City Council Meeting.  Combs taunted the low cost of living in Rocky Mount, but apparently what is “low cost” to him is not necessarily low cost to others with lesser incomes.

Rocky Mount continues to pay extremely high utility prices compared to other areas.  In fact, municipalities serviced by ElectriCities pay on average 18-40 percent more compared to other towns in the southeast serviced by Progress and Dominion. 

When we said several months ago that Congress should fund eastern North Carolina the needed money to get us out of the 2.5 Billion ElectriCities debt, thereby lowering utility prices to the regional norm. We were cognizant of what Forbes has stated in their article.  Rocky Mount and the surrounding counties are in desperate need of help and desperate need of lower lightbills.