By CURTIS DANIELChief Reporter
Mayor McMeen, the Broken Bow City Council and the Board of Public Works held a special joint meeting Friday at the Municipal Building. Ordinance 1080 establishing electric use fees was up for debatee.
Tony Tolstedt, City Administrator, opened the meeting by presenting the original proposal recommending a 29 percent rate increase. Tolstedt also presented two new options, case B and case C. Case B suggested 14-1/2 percent increase immediately with a 6.3 percent next year. Case C recommended an 18 percent now with a 5.5 percent increase next year.
Tolstedt said that case B, which was half of the original proposal, is the lowest increase he would recommend. McMeen agreed, saying 14-1/2 percent would be the minimum increase that would both assist the utilities and maintain sufficient cash reserve. The Utility Board would like to maintain $1.5 million in cash reserve.
The Utility Board recommended a 29 percent rate increase at a previous meeting. Council member, Mike Evans, said this increase was just too much of a jump. Evans along with the other council members wanted to reevaluate the rate increase before making a commitment.
Evans said that previous reserve funds have been used for capitol projects, which has kept the rates down. The rate increase is necessary to keep the budget out of the ‘red’ and assist in restoring the cash reserve. “The rate increase has nothing to do with capitol projects for the city, that money comes from taxes,” said Evans.
Phil Euler, with Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN), explained that the rate payers in Broken Bow have been paying less than normal for electricity. Euler said that Broken Bow rates were in the lower 20 percent of the state average and the fifth lowest in the state.
Scott Holcomb, with Holcomb Mechanical, said that he has been selling the idea of going all electric to his customers and asked how this increase would affect his clients. Many of Holcombs customers have converted from gas to electric because of the rates and he was concerned about such a dramatic increase.
Euler stated how gas prices have increased over 100 percent since the year 2000 and even with the increase, electric energy will still be more efficient.
City Council members were all in agreement that a rate increase was necessary and unanimously voted on case B, the 14-1/2 percent increase. “We will be looking at other options to help the city become more efficient,” Evans stated.