INDIAN RIVER SHORES — The Indian River Shores Town Council’s last-ditch effort to bargain with the City of Vero Beach Utilities failed, but the council approved a 30-year franchise deal anyway, paving the way for Shores residents to pay Indian River County water, sewer and irrigation rates beginning Oct. 1.
The grumbling was over waiting nearly six months to see the savings.
“I’m still a little put out that Mr. (City Manager Jim) O’Connor decided to delay the effective date ’till Oct. 1. He stood here and said that we could do it sooner,” Councilman Mike Ochsner said Monday, referring to statements made at the podium during a public meeting about the Vero and county utility proposals.
The explanation given by O’Connor to the Shores last week was twofold. The changeover to the billing system could not be completed earlier than Oct. 1 and, even if it could, Vero has not budgeted for the early hit to its revenues, which could amount to a half million dollars.
The first reason doesn’t wash because Vero has no idea how long it might take software company Cayenta to do the conversion. As of last week, the city had no estimate or timeline in hand from Cayenta.
“We have not received a response from our software provider on the programming for the county rates,” O’Connor said April 4 in an email response to a public records request for the estimate.
Ocean Colony resident John Steiner wasn’t buying the technical excuse anyway. A retired executive with Accenture Corporation, he said, “the chanted that are going to be made would take about a week.”
Giving the city the benefit of the doubt, Steiner then said maybe it would take a month.
Another resident questioned the quality of the drinking water the Shores gets from Vero, but those concerns were rebuffed from the council, based upon more than two decades of drinking the water.
“If it passes the standards of drinkable water, it’s good enough for me,” said Councilman Dick Haverland.
The vote came down 4-0, with Councilman Jerry Weick absent. Town Attorney Chester Clem said he would have the signed agreement delivered to the Vero Beach City Hall, where he had been told it would be placed on the April 17 council agenda.
