Garnett residents are going to pay a bit extra on their electric bill, after City Commissioners approved a uniform rate increase in the base charge for all city customers. Approved was a $3.00 increase, from $6.00 to $9.00, per month in the customer charge for electricity, which actually avoided a rate increase on actual usage. The Base Increase is expected to generate $150,000 the remainder of this year. It goes into effect June 1st. The idea is to shore up funds in the City Budget as a means to keep property taxes low.
Commissioner Jason Sheahan questioned whether the City would be better off to couple the service increase with a broader electric department rate hike, once city officials knew what the cost of a recently discussed replacement and upgrade of generator units in the City Power Plant would cost. City Manager, Travis Wilson, says the rate proposal was targeted at the Fund Balance itself and didn’t include decisions about the generators, which Commissioners have yet to confirm.
