Electric rate increase nixed for now

Matter to be discussed during forthcoming budget talks

WILLIAMS - A number of residents came out against the city of Williams' proposed electrical rate increase during an often-heated regular meeting of Williams City Council Oct. 28. Council members were both for and against the rate-hike proposal. Ultimately, members agreed to table a decision on the increase, though the matter will be revisited during the city's upcoming budget hearings set for next year.

Council member Don Dent said, while he understood the desire to keep rates the same, city officials would eventually have to increase electric rates in order to keep up with upgrades to the system. He cautioned those present at the meeting that power outages could result from an overloaded system that hasn't been upgraded. Rates could also be higher when they are increased, he said.

"The longer we put that rate increase off, the bigger it's going to be," Dent said.

Williams Mayor John Moore cited a number of reasons to keep rates the same for the time being. A recent increase in water rates, for instance, was one of the reasons for the recent closure of the city's only dry cleaning service, Moore told those present for the meeting.

"We just got hit with a big property increase," Moore said. "I've noticed, when I got my water bills, they are considerably higher than I thought they would be. At some point we can no longer continue to pay our bills."

City council members approved the purchase and operation of the electrical system in 1998 as part of an agreement with Arizona Public Service (APS). More recently, council members agreed to an increase analysis in September.

Williams Financial Director and interim City Manager Joe Duffy told council members the average bill would have gone up 67 cents a month for residential homes, under one option offered to council members for review. The increase would have been larger for business owners in the Williams area.

Percentages on the increase would change annually, according to city officials. A long-term contract with APS, Duffy said, helped lock-in costs and keep prices down for customers. There are currently about 1,500 electric customers in the city, Duffy said. Commercial users, meanwhile, generate 58 percent of the electrical revenue.

Council member Bill Miller said he was opposed to an increase in rates during the Oct. 28 regular meeting, as it would mean more than 67 cents a month for business owners.

"For a small business user, like my office, it could be $10 a month. For our motels it could be substantially more," Miller said. "We're just at a very poor economic point to try and raise our rates. Maybe next year we could come back and look at it again."

Public oncerns ranged from senior citizens and others on a fixed income to transparency in notifications to the public.

Fireworks ordinance

Council members unanimously approved an amendment to the city's Ordinance No. 916, prohibiting certain types of fireworks in the city limits. Williams Police Chief Herman Nixon said, with the number of visitors in the area, that city officials should consider the amendment to the ordinance in order to protect the surrounding forest from possible fires caused by campers and visitors to northern Arizona.

"The bottom line is that fireworks are a fire danger," Nixon said, adding that other cities in Arizona have recently passed similar ordinances.

"It does stop them from throwing M-80s out in the forest," Nixon said. He added that the county may also adopt a similar ordinance.

"We're prohibiting the use of fireworks, we're not prohibiting the sale of fireworks. That was one of things that we cannot do," Nixon said.