Finances were the central topic of discussion at Nome’s Joint Utility meeting Tuesday, in the wake of a $2.2 million line of credit extended by the Nome City Council earlier this month.
Utilities manager John Handeland addressed the board, and the elephant in the room, saying “financial prosperity” will be a priority for the utility moving forward.
“Obviously this is an issue that is forefront for the utility and the city,” said Handeland. “We are working diligently to keep forward progress so that we can resolve these issues as soon as possible. Definitely, this has been a low point in the moral of our employees and staff. But we’re all trying to clear this hurdle for the benefit of our customers and the community and move forward.”
Board members appeared to embrace that attitude, delving immediately into practical concerns about revenue sources and expenses.
From sewage and water waste to debt collection, board members examined ways in which the utility currently collects money – and how it might better do so in the future. One point of interest: Collecting overdue debt.
According to Handeland, the utility is still working to collect nearly $400,000 in overdue and unpaid bills. But he says encouraging debtors to pay on time isn’t as simple as turning out the lights.
“It does become difficult with the cold temperatures that we have. Often not being able to suspend somebody’s service, simply because you’re going to freeze a house or freeze a person,” he said.
Handeland asked the board to brainstorm alternative pressures to level against debtors – pressures he hopes to include in a budget strategy for the next year. Indeed, much of the two-hour meeting appeared to preclude utility priorities for 2015.
In addition to collecting debts, board chair Berda Wilson voiced a desire to streamline existing fuel sources. She pointed to the use of wind power as an example, and questioned why renewable energy sources couldn’t feed more of the utility grid.
“We anticipated using less oil in 2014, but we used more oil. And I think the idea of that wind was to supplement and use less oil,” she said.
Board members Fred Moody and Carl Emmons explained the Banner Wind Farm near Anvil Mountain generates a significant amount of energy — but it’s irregular. Some days the wind blows quite a bit; some days only a little. Emmons says that instability prevents the wind farm from being a reliable source of energy for Nome.
“If you’re willing to take blackouts and stuff into the system, yes we can,” said Emmons. “We can come and go as we want and we can be way more efficient in doing that, but I think in getting that efficiency then the quality goes down.”
The board discussed other potential changes for the coming year, including a reduction in construction projects and pro-bono services to the community. And while these suggestions were largely just talk, Wilson reiterated a common theme.
“We need to look at every avenue of where cash is going out the door and also where we should be collecting,” she said. “I’d like to see us start functioning like a utility again.”
The Nome Joint Utility will do just that at another meeting Thursday at 7 p.m., during which the board plans to craft a more formal outline of its 2015 budget plan.
