CU's oversight board changing complexion

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Four new members will be named to the governing body of City Utilities by the end of the year, and by the end of 2001 a majority of its members will be new faces.

City Council does not have direct oversight of the municipally owned utility. It does, however, appoint members to its board.

"CU is a business, so we should get folks in there who are going to try to run it like a business," said Councilman Bob Vanaman.

Government and business converge in City Utilities, Springfield's municipally owned utility company. Most government officials in the city agree that the utility is the portion of the city's governance structure that operates most like a company unto itself.

The Board of Public Utilities, the policy-making commission composed of volunteers from the community, is largely staffed by business leaders from the community. Each year, terms of certain members of the board expire, and those members are either replaced or reappointed, said Brenda Cirtin, city clerk.

Board members can serve two consecutive terms of three years each. At the end of November, four board members' tenures will expire, leaving four openings on the board. Bill Reser, Dan Chiles, Tom Barr and Gordon Elliott have all served two terms on the board for a maximum of six years.

They will be replaced by appointees from City Council, which will act as Committee of the Whole, with all nine members coming together as a committee to appoint new members, with the mayor as chair.

The council appoints only Utilities Board members through the Committee of the Whole[[In-content Ad]]