Benefits of
Hawarden Integrated Technology,
Energy and Communications.

The people of Hawarden believe the benefits of a locally owned and operated telephone system is well worth the struggle. The benefits of this system include:

1) Additional revenue for the City of Hawarden

As with our other municipal utilities, HiTec will become a profitable business for the City. Our city fathers had foresight 100 and 40 years ago when they took on the electric and gas utilities, and Hawarden is now reaping the financial benefits from their vision.

Each year, profits from these city utilities are used to pay for 90% of the city's labor costs and another $400,000 is added to the city's general fund. That $400,000 helps fund many community services such as

• the senior citizen's center,
• youth sports program,
• Calliope Village,
• the Historical House and
• the D.A.R.E. program.

Without the funds generated from the utilities, additional tax dollars would be needed to make up the difference or these programs would be cut altogether.
The City Council anticipates that same kind of long-term financial benefit from HiTec. Hawarden will not see a great deal of additional revenue from HiTec in the first ten years of operation because a majority of the profits will be used to repay the start-up costs. However, after those initial years, more and more of the profits will stay here in Hawarden and will be put to use for the good of the entire community.

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2) Economic development

Our state-of-the-art phone system can be used to attract new businesses and people to our community. There are many kinds of industries and professional that need an up-to-date, dependable phone and data system for their business operation. Bringing new industries and residents to Hawarden will increase the tax base, which will ultimately mean more revenue for the city.
Some of the businesses that could be interested in locating here to take advantage of HiTec's state-of-the-art capabilities include:

• at-home professionals
• call centers
• order centers

In addition to attracting new businesses, many current businesses in Hawarden have communication needs that cannot be met because the individual cost to each business is too high. Because of HiTec technology, the City will be able to provide a variety of services to local businesses at a cost-effective price. Some of those services include:

• high-speed Internet capabilities
• monitoring systems
• specialized phone system features

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3) Community Service Enhancement

HiTec communications capabilities will provide a greater number of services to Hawarden residents through community service organizations:

The Hawarden Community Hospital and the physician will be able to take advantage of the state-of-the-art system through:

Tele-medicine	Specialists outside Hawarden will work with physicians and patients in Hawarden to make diagnoses and prescribe treatment.
Staff development	The staff will be connected to workshops and training seminars through HiTec communication capabilities
Physician Information	Broadband internet and online resources make medicine in rural Iowa more up-to-date. The University of Iowa and the State of South Dakota are heavily involved in making use of the internet to provide help to rural clinics and hospitals.
Community education	Health care information and training can be offered to Hawarden residents through the local cable TV channel.

The West Sioux School District will become a center of community education for all residents through:

Internet access	School sites will make a number of Internet lines available to students and residents.
Staff development	Staff will be able to attend workshops and training sessions via the communications system without leaving the school grounds.
Sharing of classes	School systems on the Pioneer Holdings network will be connected to each other. Students from classrooms in different parts of the area can work together without leaving the classroom.

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