The Cleveland City Council met yesterday. During the meeting, Council Member Dale Hughes announced he will not be running for re-elec
The Cleveland City Council met yesterday.
During the meeting, Council Member Dale Hughes announced he will not be running for re-election. Vice Mayor, Avery Johnson also announced he will not be stepping down in May as originally planned, but will stay in the position until the next election cycle in August.
Both Hughes and Johnson were recognized by Mayor Kevin Brooks for their many years of service.
The Cleveland Utilities Authority gave a budget presentation to the council. The proposed budget focuses on future growth. All three divisions of the Utility has seen increases in costs. Forecasted rate increases for wastewater will be approximately an extra $8.50 per month for residential customers. The Increase is due to system operations/maintenance, installation of new connections, and systems improvements. Some of the wastewater improvement projects mentioned were converted to UV light wastewater treatment and other large capital improvement projects over the next 2-3 years. In the next 10 years, approximately 12,500 new customers are expected to join the Utility. Also in the budget, $100 Million is needed for new projects, mostly used for wastewater plant expansion.
For Utility customers, CU expects a 2% increase in electric rates. That equates to around a $12 a month increase for the average electric customer.
Cleveland Utilities also gave an update on Broadband internet progress. For the first time, there is a fiber division in the budget. All backbone fiber and preliminary fiber design has been completed. The utility estimates they are around 18 months from the build-out. Residential customers can expect to pay between $59.99 and $99 per month for internet service according to the plan they choose. Intranet service will be a separate bill from other utilities. There will be no contracts and there will be month-to-month service with no installation fees.
The next City Council meeting will be held on Monday, May 13th.
You can watch yesterday’s meeting on MixTV.TV.
