VERO BEACH — In a rejection of the advice of its current Utility Advisory Commission, the Vero Beach City Council Tuesday moved a step closer toward putting a Utility Authority in place that would appear to have more power to control the running of the power plant, but would still serve at the pleasure of the Council members.
If the City Council approves the measure, the new Utility Authority would be able to set rates, fees, and charges and would make decisions to borrow money, issue bonds, dispose of assets and prepare budgets. However, the City Council would be able to reject or amend any decision by the Utility Authority and could also remove any member at any time for any reason. The public hearing on the resolution is set for Nov. 3 at 9:30 a.m. and after that it could be voted on by the City Council to replace the current Advisory Commission with the new Utility Authority.
The new board would be comprised of three city residents, two from Indian River County and one from Indian River Shores. There would also be two alternates — one from the city and one from outside the city limits.
The Utility Commission unanimously rejected the idea of forming a Utility Authority and City Utility Director, R.B. Sloan was against the formation of the Utility Authority. Sloan announced he was resigning his position last week.
