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Readsboro Residents to Get Electric Rate CreditBy Jen Thomas - April 07, 2008
iBerkshires Staff
READSBORO, Vt. — Residents could see a substantial credit on their electricity bills in the coming months as the Select Board looks to adhere to a ruling by the Public Service Board.
As part of a decision read at last Tuesday's board meeting, the PSB approved a 22 percent electric rate increase, an amount that falls short of the board's proposed 26.82 percent. The higher rate has been charged on electric bills since last July, and the town will credit accounts as part of the stipulations of their agreement with the state.
"They approved 22 percent but they added some strings to it," said board Chairman Raymond Eilers at the meeting.
The board unanimously voted to approve the settlement, though it will not be official until all the conditions of the agreement have been met.
The ruling mandates that the town comply with "generally accepted accounting principles" and rules set by the Government Accounting Standards Board. It also requires that the town invest in software to calculate the credit due to each customer, a process that will ease the hassle of issuing individual refund checks.
"We're not handing money out. We're just giving credit," said Vice Chairwoman Charlotte Clark.
The cost of the custom software is $1,500, but Eilers said there is a possibility of sharing the burden with Enosburg Falls and Johnson, which also need the program.
The decision comes following a February public hearing concerning the increase, which board members said was necessary because of a fiscal 2007 deficit and the town-owned electric company's lack of general upkeep over the years.
Clark and Eilers said the 26.82 percent increase would have amounted to approximately $5,000 in added revenue each month but they did not know what the average cost was to the customer nor did they know what the new rates would be.
Board member Tony Caruso was appointed the contact person for the town's lawyer concerning the PSB decision.
Road Project
At the meeting, the board also discussed major projects slated to begin in town over the next few months. Eilers said the summer highway project would see improvements to Branch Hill Road.
"We can't afford to pave it or fix it 100 percent but we'll work on it," said Eilers, who mentioned culverts, drainage work, and subdrains as part of the project.
The board also set the rates for Alpenwald lots at a minimum $1,000 purchase price and raised the wages for the town's interdepartmental job to $16 per hour, a $1.50 increase.
Zoning Administrator Rodney Salamone caused a stir when he stood up in front of the board and demanded last week's meeting minutes be changed to read "zoning issue" instead of "personnel matters" as the reason for the executive session.
"It sounds like I was being chastised," said Salamone, who came before the board to discuss a complaint leveled against him by Marcia Evans and Nadia Todres concerning a trailer on their property.
"I gave her a specific violation and she wrote a letter to the Select Board. She shouldn't have done that. Every time I issue a zoning violation, they're going to write a complaint and you're going to listen to them? You shouldn't. You should turn them around and send them on their way," said Salamone.
The complaint stated that Salamone "should work with the townspeople and not against them" in his position as a public official with the power to "regulate the use of land, the height and size of buildings, the size of lots, parking requirements and other relevant matters." The letter stemmed from a notice of violation issued to Evans and Todres in which Salamone identified the trailer as a shed.
"I want the minutes to say zoning matter. This isn't right. I am not satisfied. It should never have happened," said Salamone.
Clark said the minutes could not be changed because executive sessions can only be called for specific reasons.
"I did what I thought we would do for any person who works for the town of Readsboro," she said. The board voted unanimously to approve the minutes as is.
The board also discussed a performance audit inspection of the waste-water treatment system and the installation of more telephone poles for Verizon Communications Inc. on Bailey Hill Road. |
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