How two communities are thriving
By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
The heat is on . . . is your air conditioner?
The sorely anticipated 50% electricity rate increase for Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) customers rolled in this summer after lawmakers put it on hold in 2006.
To top it off, gas and oil price increases have weighed down Maryland residents even more, forcing nearly everyone to subdue their spending habits. Anyone on a fixed income faces a financial shock to their wallets, and many will search for cheaper alternatives to everyday needs.
Smart financial decision
Instead of cutting back her everyday needs, Betty Timberlake moved to Oak Crest, where her monthly service charge includes electric and transportation in addition to most other utilities, maintenance, one meal a day, and several other amenities.
“The BGE increase is going to hurt a lot of people terribly,” she says. “I feel fortunate that I live here so I don’t have to put up with all of the increases in electricity and everything else.”
Retirement Counselor JoAnn Huebler has helped hundreds of people like Timberlake decide that moving to Oak Crest is the right financial decision for them. “Because the costs are spread out over the entire community, we are able to absorb price increases like electricity and keep them lower than people who live in a house,” she says.
To help cut energy costs even more, Oak Crest and Charlestown have both joined in Erickson’s nationwide “green” initiative. The Baltimore-based company recently hired a national energy manager to propose and implement energyefficient strategies for every community.
All aboard
Gas prices also squeeze people’s budgets. Don and Adele Salvucci moved to Charlestown in March 2006. They say they now spend much less on gas because they frequently use the community’s transportation services.