Belton approves $8.25 million advanced metering contract; maintenance contract approved at about $169,000 per year

Belton’s City Council on Tuesday approved a contract with Utility Service Group Inc. to replace the city’s water meters with an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system and approved a separate maintenance contract for the new system.

Why it matters: Council and staff said AMI will provide faster leak detection, customer portal tools, improved consumption reporting and the capability for remote shutoffs. City staff and the finance director told council the project will require a budget amendment before signing and will reduce but not eliminate longstanding manual processes for meter reads and shutoffs.

Contract and cost: staff presented a not‑to‑exceed implementation contract amount of $8,250,672.40 with Utility Service Group and a maintenance agreement with an annual not‑to‑exceed figure of $169,000. The system includes new electronic meters, sealed remote shutoff assemblies, network endpoints and seven data collection towers (MTUs). The maintenance contract is structured as a one‑year agreement with multiple renewal options covering a 15‑year anticipated equipment lifecycle; the company and city negotiated annual escalation language capped in the contract.

Timeline and operations: staff said the full program is expected to require about 15…