City explains utility bill rules

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April 15, 2010 - 12:00 AM

LAHARPE — Utility customers have until the 15th of each month to pay their bills or they will be disconnected, unless an extension is granted by LaHarpe City Council members.
Such a practice has been in place for some time, City Clerk Kim Bradford explained Wednesday to LaHarpe City Council members.
However, Bradford said she occasionally receives a request to have a utility deadline extended after the Council has met for the month.
In those cases, the request is denied and the utilities disconnected after the 15th, Bradford said.
The issue was brought to light after Bradford received an extension request last month that came after the Council’s March 10 meeting.
Bradford said that denying the extension request sparked a number of angry calls to her, Mayor Lloyd Wayne Turner and other Council members.
The customer was attempting to poll the Council members by telephone in order to get the extension, Turner said. That practice is prohibited.
During their discussion, Council members also noted that extension requests had to be made to the Council in person, not in advance to Bradford. That practice will be enforced starting in May.
Council members approved seven bill extensions previously submitted to Bradford.

COUNCIL members tabled decisions on Internet service and computer networking needed at the former LaHarpe school in order for City Hall to relocate there.
The Council received four bids, “but it looks like you have bids for four different things,” Bradford said.
One, for example, offered Internet service and connections, but no networking; another was solely for networking; a third was for telephone service and computer networking; and the fourth for Internet and computer networking.
A fifth bid offered only to provide backup data storage for the computers, Bradford said.
Council members noted the discrepancies in the bids and agreed that consultation with City Attorney Chuck Apt was necessary.
They will postpone a decision until a special session at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
They voted, 5-0, to contract with LaHarpe Communications for telephone service. Council member Harry Lee Jr. is the owner of LaHarpe Communications and abstained from voting. He also is one of the bidders to provide Internet service to the school building.

THE COUNCIL rejected a pair of mowing bids, citing the differing number of properties that would be mowed in the competing bids.
The bids were to mow city property or other private properties in which lawns haven’t otherwise been maintained.

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