Special council meeting, public hearing set for March 20
Although they don’t expect the outcome will change, Centerville’s council members are conducting another public hearing and special council meeting related to an already-approved increase in electric rates.
An ordinance was introduced at a short March 6 meeting to correct a mistake in the newly increased rates that accidentally would have been a rate reduction for customers. Clerk-Treasurer Richard Tincher said someone had misplaced a “0” in the document.
A public hearing will take place at 5:30 p.m. March 20, with a special council meeting following to address the issue.
Town officials are planning for customers to see the newly adjusted rate of $0.1455 per kilowatt-hour soon.
The new rates were approved at a Feb. 14 council meeting a few minutes after a public hearing where no residents spoke.
At that time, Council President Dan Wandersee noted that the town’s electric rates and charges hadn’t increased since 2016.
The council had hired Indianapolis-based municipal advisers to conduct a rate study to evaluate expenses and projected revenue for water and electric service.
Centerville’s new rates went into effect March 1 and customers will see them in their April bills, pending council’s reapproval.
All town officials involved want to make sure the mistake is corrected before bills are sent out around March 27, Tincher said.
A version of this article appeared in the March 15 2023 print edition of the Western Wayne News.