3.1.B ERMU MINUTES 04-13-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 5 Regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission March 9, 2010 Jerry Gumphrey moved to approve the 1" quarter write-offs for 2010. Daryl Thompson seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. 5.5 Review Budeet Plan / Automatic Bill Payment Requirement At a recent staff meeting, there was some discussion on the budget plan and the challenges of managing that plan. The challenge comes from the individuals who sign up and then don't follow through on their budget payments, or submit different amounts rather than the agreed budget amount. It has been the practice to encourage the customer to enroll in the automatic bill payment (ABP) plan to draft the agreed upon amount each month to keep their budget plan current. Attorney Peter Beck was consulted regarding the possibility of making the ABP a requirement to qualify for the budget plan. It was determined that this could be implemented being the budget plan is an optional plan to customers. To implement this, ERMU will need a policy stating the requirement for budget customers to be ABP customers, and the application form will need to be modified to meet this requirement. Staff recommends adopting this policy. Jerry Gumphrey moved to adopt the Budget Plan Automatic Bill Pay policy. Daryl Thompson seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. 5.6 Update from Investment Committee The Investment Committee, consisting of Troy Adams, John Dietz, and Theresa Slominski met with Peter Beck prior to this ERMU Commission meeting. Theresa Slominski said the Investment Committee is in the process of making a formal reserve policy and the changes needed for the investment policy. John Dietz said Troy Adams will be contacting Ehlers & MMUA to acquire their standards on reserves so ERMU will have a template policy to work with This policy will be brought to the Commission on a yearly basis for update. 6.1 Staff Updates Troy Adams updated the Commission on the new program for Project Conserve which was discussed at the Monday night Elk River City Council meeting. If the grant is received it is hoped to have 500 participants in this program. It is hoped to be able to extend the scope of the project to all Elk River residents some of which may have Connexus for their electric service. The Bureau of Management Services (BMS) has given notice of a hearing scheduled for April 2, 2010 at 9:30 at the Sherburne County Courthouse regarding the request for making the field staff one unit for the union vote instead of separating out the lineman from locators, meter technicians, laborers, and water operators. Attorney Mark Mathison and the department heads attending will have to explain the