Lovell council mulls water rate increase

Following up on a recommendation from CPA James Seckman from a recent audit of town finances, the Lovell Town Council recently began the process of examining a potential water rate increase.
While very financially solid overall, the town was a little short for reserves in the water fund, Seckman told the council at the November council meeting.
Seckman said, with cash in the amount of $1,080,880 and operating expenses of $941,883, the town has about 13 months of reserves in the water fund.
“Twelve months is the bare minimum, up to 36 months,” he said in November. “So 13 months is on the low end of that. I’d like the town to consider raising water rates by as much as $4 (per month). The fund is growing, but not at the rate I prefer. It would take about three years to get to where we should be.”
During the December 12 regular meeting, town administrator Jed Nebel took the council through an Excel spreadsheet fee analysis presentation, showing various scenarios regarding the possible establishment of a base rate and a usage increase. He said the town has been reluctant to increase the water rates very often over the years because of the cost of retiring the debt on the water and sewer infrastructure project, but he said water rates are going up all over the state.
Nebel said the town doesn’t have a base rate in its billing system, just a basic level that
passes through to the provider – the Shoshone Municipal Pipeline. He said the council
could set a base rate and tick up the rate per thousand gallons of use.
Councilwoman Carol Miller warned of raising rates too high on citizens on fixed incomes, and Nebel said the town would need to give larger users a heads-up, as well.
“We don’t want to be too aggressive or too passive,” mayor Tom Newman said. “We don’t want it to take 25 years (to build reserves) or we’ll never get there.
“We obviously need to do something and be aggressive enough to make a difference and gentle enough to not hurt people.”
The council and administration will continue to study the situation, and Nebel invited council members to come to town hall to look at numbers if they would like. He said this week that he is drawing up an ordinance for consideration, starting with a $2 base rate and a $2 per thousand gallons usage increase.
Personnel policy
In discussing a town personnel policy update during the meeting, councilman Ray Messamer asked about the ability of the mayor to “hire and fire,” noting, “That’s a lot of power (vested) in one person.”
Nebel responsed that the Lovell policy is actually better than the town manager system, where a manager makes the personnel decisions. He said the Town of Lovell works with a hiring committee, and the mayor essentially signs off on the committee recommendation.
“There are a lot of eyes on it,” mayor Tom Newman said, and public works director Adrin Mayes agreed, stating, “I like that it goes through several eyes before a final decision is made.”
The council voted to approve the personnel policy updates, which included limiting cell phone operation while operating equipment and an update for town employees serving as first responders for the fire department, search and rescue and the like. Nebel said the town will pay up to 30 hours per calendar year for first responder time on duty, but first responder hours cannot lead to overtime pay for employees. There are many other policy changes, as well, Nebel said.
Near the end of the meeting, Mayes thanked the council on behalf of the public works department for working with the crew. Noting that the town has been working on a number of policy and procedure changes, he thanked the council and administration for keeping the employees in the loop, offering the crew’s “heartfelt gratitude and appreciation,” adding that the council “values us as individuals and as public works officials.”
“We appreciate everybody,” Mayor Newman said. “We’re thankful for you.”
Added Messamer, “We appreciate the way the town is run. About 95 percent of the time it’s as smooth as butter.”
In other action December 12:
• Nebel gave an update on Phase II of the Armory Park Project, explaining that the financial agreement with the state regarding the project and the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant has been restructured, noting that the numbers are the same, but the agreement language has been simplified. He said during a virtual walk-through review of Phase I of the project, the state representative said a National Park Service official noted that the project was one of the nicest remodels the Park Service has seen and that they (state officials) almost never get that kind of positive feedback.
• Nebel asked the council about the job descriptions he’s been working on, noting, “If you see anything and want to talk through it, let me know. We will need a vote to approve them, eventually, and I would like council input before I go to the employees. I’m happy to sit down with anybody and will sit down with the mayor and department heads.”
• Reacting to another recommendation by CPA Seckman, the council voted to add Nebel and council members Bob Mangus and Carol Miller as signers on the town checking account as part of a financial checks and balances system.
• The council voted to approve two memorandums of understanding with Big Horn County regarding dispatching services.
• Nebel discussed with the council an updated franchise agreement with TCT, with attorneys for the town and TCT reviewing the agreement. He said TCT would like the town to support a plan to expand the fiber optics system in Lovell.
• Nebel noted that some citizens have requested a special improvement district to provide for more paved streets in town. He said he is working with town attorney Alexa Rolin to put something together.