by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
On Monday, the Garretson City Council gathered for their regular monthly meeting. The first topic of discussion, natural gas prices, were at the forefront of everyone's minds due to the record-breaking price hike seen last month.
Initial estimates were gory, with the City paying over eight times what was paid in January. Final billing finds that individual Garretson natural gas customers will be paying over four times what they paid in January.
"The natural gas rates shall be as follows for in-city consumers: Small (Residential) Customers: The Basic Rate shall be $15.00 per month. The Usage Rate shall be $ 4.162 per Ccf," states the natural gas price documentation released at the council meeting.
In January, small residential customers paid $0.95 per Ccf (100 cubic feet), which is the unit of cost the City of Garretson uses to bill its customers. Out of city limits residential customers will pay $4.20 per Ccf plus the basic rate of $15.00.
The final bill will still be painful, and far above what many customers could pay in a single month. For instance, if a residential customer uses 200 Ccf, their final bill for natural gas would be $832, which is $683.73 above what they paid in January (this includes sales tax charged).
"I am proposing we have a 6-month payment plan above and beyond normal usage with an ok from the council to go longer if needed," said City Finance Officer Anna Uhl. She outlined how she intended to cancel auto withdrawal for the February payment, and allow customers to contact City Hall to set up how they would like to pay any excess.
"Some will just want to pay it all at once and be done with it," she said, "but others will need options."
If a customer contacts City Hall, is in good standing with the City, and makes good faith payments, she said, she wanted to be able to work with residents to go longer if necessary. She would start by charging the same amount for February that was billed for January, then split the excess across the next several bills without charging a late fee or any interest.
For the 200 Ccf user, this would be six payments of $113.96 above their normal monthly bill, which also includes charges for sewer, water, current natural gas usage, and branch pile.
"We're fortunate that we have the excess money to pay for it," said Council member Dave Bonte, referring to the City paying for the full amount up front and being able to even offer a payment plan. According to the council, other communities have been struggling to pay their final bill.
Members of the council first sought assurances that March, April, and May's natural gas bills wouldn't be higher than normal. Uhl noted that prices were already below what they were locked in at.
With that question answered, they approved the proposal unanimously.
All customers will have a notice at the bottom of their upcoming bill that stipulates any person who would like to set up a payment plan must call City Hall to set it up. Uhl will start with a six-month payment option, and adjust it from there if needed.
