VERO BEACH — Attention Vero Beach electric customers: Enjoy that last bill where cool weather allowed many finally turn off the air conditioning, throw open their windows eventually open a substantially lower power bill. Starting Wednesday, Vero Beach electric rates will be going up by 5.8 percent.
The Vero Beach City Council was briefed on the matter Tuesday after a marathon morning of discussion on all things electric by the city’s Utility Commission.
City Manager Jim O’Connor has the authority to raise the rates without the council approval but in light of the highly political, and at time acrimonious, discussions pitting fans of selling the electrical system against others who either flat out are against the idea or just a bit leery, he decided to bring it to the table.
The increase is needed in large part because of the city’s increase in wholesale power costs and also capital improvements, officials said.
Vero Beach Councilwoman Pilar Turner said that as much as she hated to agree with city finance and utility director’s findings that a rate increase is needed, she was left with no other choice but to concede that a rate increase is something that needs to be done.
“We have to be good stewards to our system,” Turner said.
The last rate increase was in January.
Cindy Lawson, the city’s finance director, said the issue will be explored again in May in the event any adjustments — which could mean lowering the rate – need to be made.
In other matters, the city council moved forward with a plan to hold a city-wide referendum on whether or not to sell the city’s electric utility. The first and only public hearing on the matter will be held on Jan. 8. If approved by the council, which it is expected to be, voters will decided on March 12.
Prior to the board’s special meeting on the matter, the city’s Utility Commission also gave a nod toward the referendum and also said it didn’t want to pursue any of the other possible avenues such as having a partial sale as suggested by Councilman Jay Kramer.
