The Board meets on the first and third Monday of each month. Meetings begin at 1:00 p.m. and are held in the department conference room at 65 Lafayette Ave, Littleton. Board meetings are open to the public and time is allotted for public comments at each meeting.
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The regularly scheduled Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, February 02, 2015 in the Littleton Water and Light Department (LWL) conference room. Present were Commissioner Perry Goodell, Commissioner Ralph Ross, Financial Services Director Cheryl Wilkins, Operations Manager Richard Herrington and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of the January 20, 2015 regularly scheduled Commissioners meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Ross made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor of the motion 2-0-0.
CUSTOMER & PUBLIC CONCERNS:
Security Deposits: Superintendent Considine discussed the department’s existing office procedure of requiring a security deposit on account(s) that have not demonstrated consistent on-time payment history. Currently the same criterion that is applied to a new customer (no late payment for 12/24 - months) attempting to establish credit with the department are being applied to an established customers with a payment history. This practice most often affects customers that have a lot of movement within their accounts (i.e. tenant – landlord) such as transfers. This practice has been questioned by a customer as to its fairness and equitability.
Further discussion took place between the BOC and Mrs. Kenney with regard to security deposits and how best to protect the department from customers with less than ideal credit/ payment history.
The BOC agreed and Commissioner Ross stated that the LWL is not so large and there is no reason why each situation cannot be considered on its own merit, and that an occasional late payment does not make for a poor paying account. As the department is applying penalties, as long as the customer is paying, the department is adequately compensated. The BOC is not in favor of requiring a security deposit on accounts that are paying prior to receiving a delinquency notice as it appears to be a burdensome business practice.
The BOC agreed that the following changes in office procedure are prudent and should be applied to established customers: 1) that there is no one right answer/ procedure that will fit all circumstances for all customers, and 2) that if a customer has a credit history with the department, they pay their billing (even with the penalties) the department is making money, to apply a security deposit on these accounts does not make sense, and 3) if a customer is consistently on the delinquency list then the department may consider applying a minimal security deposit.
FINANCIAL DIRECTORS REPORT:
Mrs. Wilkins discussed and reviewed the on-line banking access roster and process with the BOC. Department personnel follow certain security guidelines when transferring funds into and out of the operating funds account. Each LWL staff person that is required to interact with the bank must be granted electronic access (pin and password protected) by the department via an access roster. The roster authorizes them to perform a specific function listed on the access roster up to a set transaction dollar limit, especially on withdrawals as approved by the BOC.
Following a brief discussion Commissioner Goodell executed the access roster as presented on behalf of the BOC.
OPERATIONS MANAGERS REPORT:
Mr. Herrington briefed the BOC in regard to a pole accident that involved a motor vehicle on Elm Street on Sunday afternoon, February 1st. On call personnel found that a pickup truck struck a pole on lower Elm Street causing the pole to shear off between the ground and telephone attachment point. Fortunately, service was not interrupted as a result of the accident, as the outside temperature was near zero (0) degrees. Although this location is within the Fair Point (FP) set area, LWL personnel set the new pole as FP crews were not readily available and the overhead line ground clearance was low. The pole set was complicated due to the location, outside air temperature, frozen ground, and required additional labor to manage safe traffic control.
SUPERINTENDENT/ GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT:
1. The Next Era capacity contracts were discussed with the BOC. The confirmation sheet (legal agreement to purchase power supply resources) has not been signed by the department to date pending ongoing legal review.
When executed, the department will hedge capacity and energy resource requirements in 2018 – 2023. This action is taken by the department in light of the projected increase in capacity cost (double) as less generating assets are projected to be available in the NE region.
2. The 2014 fleet vehicle expenses were reviewed with the BOC. The vehicle costs are tallied for each department vehicle and utilized to determine the chargeable hourly rate. The new utility billing system has the ability to track vehicle expenses that were previously tallied on a separate spreadsheet. Vehicle cost data will be readily available at month end as these costs are being taken directly from accounts payable.
ADJOURNMENT:
Commissioner Ross made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by
Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor of the motion 2-0-0.
Meeting adjourned at 1:56 p.m.
The regularly scheduled Commissioner’s meeting is held twice monthly on the first and third Monday, at 1:00 p.m., in the Department’s conference room.