Approve electric rate; hire p/t police officer
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By David Porter
The Tuscola City Council on Monday approved a new one-year agreement for electrical aggregation. The program gives residents a choice on electric service provider and rates.
Drew Hoel, city manager, said the last agreement, with Home Front, was for three years. Constellation was the winning bidder for this agreement. Hoel said the city’s vendor recommended a one-year agreement due to the possibility that electric rates may go down if the federal government deregulates energy.
The new rate is at $0.10899 per kWh, up from $0.07895 with the last contract. Hoel said the city’s vendor has opined that this is a “good rate.”
Residents do not have to use the city-endorsed option. They can stay with Ameren for electric rates or choose their own provider. He said letters will be going out to residents explaining the program and noted that the County Chronicle had a story about it last week.
Mayor Dan Kleiss noted that residents do not need to do anything if they do not want to use the city’s program.
In other business, the city hired Dustin Lutz as a part-time officer at a rate of $27.04 per hour. Hoel said Lutz is already certified and works as an officer in Arthur and Mansfield.
The city also approved a list of summer hires, which Hoel said is likely to change.
Mayor Kleiss also noted that the Women’s Club plans to hold a march Saturday for child abuse awareness. They will walk from Ervin Park to Sale Street and back starting at 10 a.m. He noted that he failed to get the item on the city’s agenda, so no official action was taken.
Following the regular meeting, the Council met in closed session to discuss personnel and possible property acquisition but took no action on those items. Prior to the meeting, a budget meeting was held to review proposed spending for the next fiscal year. A final draft is expected to be voted on April 28 after the budget is made available to the public.
In his written report, Hoel said the police department renovations should be “very near to full completion within the next few weeks.” The flooring contractor began work last week.
He also said that Badger Meter, which supplies the city’s water meter software, has said they have “identified and corrected the firmware issue” that has been causing problems that resulted in estimated meter readings. The new program is expected to be installed in the next two weeks.