Utilities Board reviews inconsistencies, gas rates
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
During last Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Rockford Utilities Board, board members reviewed inconsistencies relating to commercial customers, as well as compared their gas rates with others.
Others present for the meeting included employees Wade Brown and Jason Thornton, Mayor Scott White, Councilmember Shirley Ogle, Police Officer Chad Ogletree, part-time Town Clerk Susan Rogers, and resident Lynn Castleberry.
In reviewing the commercial versus residential customers, Utilities Clerk Deanna Lesley reported that there were inconsistencies with how many of them were listed in the system. She provided the board with a list reflecting the customers and those inconsistencies.
Lesley explained that she needed to know who is supposed to be listed as commercial and charged commercial water. She added that the system is not consistent and that there were very few customers being charged with commercial water, saying that she is “just trying to clean it up.”
During discussion, a church was mentioned as an example of one that is listed as commercial, but being charged residential water and commercial sewer.
Board Member Ronnie Joiner said that they need to review the list and standardize it. During further discussion members said they need to fix it across the board.
It was noted that numerous ones being charged for residential water need to be corrected to commercial. As is, many of the customers has one residential service and one commercial, but both would need to be the same.
The board mentioned that right now it does not balance out correctly because of those inconsistencies.
It was further stated that all churches should be listed as commercial. However, it was not only churches being impacted.
Numerous businesses; including AltaPointe, Triple R Cafe and First Bank; were noted as also being inconsistent. Those and others listed similarly are being charged commercial sewer rates, but residential water rates.
The base water rate is $30 for residential and $45 for commercial. Utilities Superintendent Wade Brown suggested that the board might consider sending a letter to the ones affected to notify them of the correction and rate change because of correcting the classification.
Joiner said that they needed to straighten it out soon.
“This is not right at all,” he said. “If you’re a business in this town you need to pay business rates.”
After discussion the board unanimously approved a motion to rectify the situation and get the list of customers corrected in the system to have them properly classified.
In other business, as requested by the board, Brown reviewed information he had found regarding gas rates for other areas, including Goodwater, Clanton, Wetumpka, and Sylacauga. He said that most of the rates are about the same, adding that some are less than Rockford, but that they’re also bigger cities.
“I’m against raising gas rates, I’m going to come out and point blank say that,” said Board Member J.T. McDonald. “It’s like we’re money hungry. I know you have to have money, and things go up, but I’m against this. Why do we have to go up now?”
Joiner said that he is not in favor of raising gas rates either, but that the board was just looking into it and comparing rates. However, he said no one had mentioned raising rates at that time.
During ongoing discussion, it was also mentioned that it has been “a long time” since the town had an increase in gas rates.
“Like that’s justification to raise them,” McDonald said.
The board further discussed that “everything” has increased in price, noting that it is also now costing them more for gas. McDonald said that he did not realize they were paying more for gas.
“We do not charge any more than we have to,” Joiner said. “We’re not trying to make a profit. We can’t control what suppliers do.”
After much discussion, the board tabled the matter of gas rates for a later time.
In other business, regarding the sewer plant, Board Chair Ronnie Brown said that the company that was to do the plant is no longer in business and that the board would have to find another company to do it.
The board was awarded $751,000 in grant funds from a USDA grant for the sewer plant, but it was mentioned that it might cost even more now since those funds were based on project estimates from three years ago.
During discussion the board mentioned wondering if COVID-19 money could also be used toward the project.
In discussing the plant, the board also briefly discussed the Richville water project to get water to more residents in the Richville community.
After much discussion, the board approved having engineer Ed Morris go forward as the engineer working on the sewer plant and for engineer Dave Bechtel to work on the Richville water project. The motion was approved by a majority vote with McDonald abstaining.
The board also mentioned taking applications for an open position, noting that they “need help.” After brief discussion, the board unanimously approved temporarily hiring someone for part-time contract labor until someone is hired for the full-time position.
The board also unanimously approved the purchase of a pickup truck and the board’s financial audit.
Regarding the status of the board’s new building to be constructed next to Dollar General, Superintendent Brown said that he had been asked to get quotes for a concrete slab for that building. He said he had reached out to five people a month ago requesting quotes, but that he has not received any responses yet.
As such, that matter was unanimously approved to be tabled until the next meeting.
Also during the meeting, new Rockford resident Lynn Castleberry said that she wanted to express her appreciation for Brown and the Rockford Utilities crew for the good job they did for her and her family as they moved into the area. She said that he and the crew were great, and she wanted to let the board know.
The next regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Rockford Utilities Board will be held at 7 p.m. March 15.
