HIAWASSEE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
April 12th, 2018
A Special Called meeting of the City Council will be held at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall.
- Call to order
- Invocation, Bonnie Kendrick
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Serv-Line Water Line Insurance
- New Charge Code 501(C) 3
- Motion to Adjourn
HIAWASSEE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
April 12th, 2018
Meeting was called to order by Mayor Liz Ordiales at 6:07pm.
Present were Mayor Liz Ordiales, Council members Amy Barrett, Kris Berrong, Anne Mitchell, Nancy Noblet, and Patsy Owens. Bonnie Kendrick, City Clerk was also present.
The invocation was given by Bonnie Kendrick, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Liz opened the meeting to discuss the possibility of Serv-Line Water Line Insurance for the City’s water customers. The monthly cost will be $1.80 for residential customers and $2.50 for commercial customers. The insurance will cover water leaks from the meter to the structure 1 time per year across two billing cycles. It will not cover water leaks within the home or business. However, the Serv-Line Insurance Company will offer an add-on insurance for covering the cost of water line repairs. Council member Patsy Owens said she has spoken to several people and most are in favor of having the insurance, but wanted to be sure that if anyone did not want the insurance, they would have the ability to opt out of it.
If the City does proceed with the insurance, Serv-Line will put flyers in with bills for two consecutive bills and on the third month the bill will reflect the line item of the insurance. At any time, customers can opt out of the insurance, but if they opt- out and change their mind, there is a 30 day waiting period after reinstating the insurance before the company will pay a claim.
Mayor Liz said that 40 bills have been adjusted this year for water leaks, most of which were caused by frozen pipes. Currently, the City will adjust 1 bill per year for customer leaks, which means that the customer will bear some on the cost of the lost water, but the City also bears some of the cost. If the insurance is provided, the customer will pay an average of their normal billand the insurance company will pay for the remainder of the lost water.
The Council all agreed it would like to provide the insurance.
Mayor Liz asked the Council if they thought the City should no longer provide adjustments to bills if the insurance is provided. The Council agreed it would not expect to adjust bills if the insurance was provided.
Mayor Liz also stated that there is a city ordinance which provides for raising water rates by up to 3% per year, but that the ordinance has never been acted on and in fact, there has not been a water increase since 2013. She further stated that there must be an increase as the current prices will not support the loans we have going forward. She indicated the 3% increase will range from an additional $.58 for customer below the booster to $1.02 for our North Carolina customers on the minimum bill. Council members each indicated agreement with the increase by either a nod of the head or a verbal agreement.
Mayor Liz also spoke with the Council in regard to a new charge code for 501(C) 3 non-profit customers. Currently they are billed as a commercial customer with a minimum bill of $99.12. She has reviewed all of the non-profits and there are 6 who use less than 800 gallons of water per month. If the new code was 60% of the commercial code, they would realize a savings of $39.65 per month and the City would only decrease the income by approx. $238./month.
Motion to adjourn was made by Council member Kris Berrong, seconded by Anne Mitchell and all Council members were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 6:33pm