Council considers CU budget, rate hike

Springfield City Council on Monday night considered the utility’s proposed 2008 budget, which includes a second version of a natural gas rate increase. The budget, approved by the Board of Public Utilities on Aug. 28, requests $752.6 million for the fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. That amount, excluding $243.8 million for the Southwest 2 power plant expansion, is up nearly $30 million from this year.

In April, council asked CU to go back to the drawing board with its original rate hike, which would have increased base rates by 4.1 percent. The new proposal would increase rates by 2.5 percent in April 2009, with an additional 2.5 percent jump in October 2009 and another 2 percent increase in October 2010.

The utility maintains that the additional money generated by the increase is needed to offset costs of continued maintenance and mandated upgrades to the gas system, as well as to meet the state auditor’s recommendation that the gas service not be subsidized by revenues from electricity customers.

While both CU and some consumers said the revised proposal is less harmful to individual customers, several members of the public said the new budget doesn’t do enough to cut excess spending or postpone projects.

“You as a council face decisions where good necessary features are mixed with frills and wants,” Springfield resident Carl Herd told council. “For making some cuts and incremental changes, CU should be complimented, but they did not do enough.”

Council is expected to vote on the proposed budget at its Sept. 29 meeting.