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Murphy council denies Encore rate change, approves Atmos franchise and Wells Fargo procurement card; consent item approved
Summary
At its Oct. 21 meeting the Murphy City Council unanimously approved an updated 20-year franchise ordinance with Atmos Energy, adopted a procurement card services contract with Wells Fargo and formally denied a rate-change filing from Encore Electric Delivery Company; consent Agenda Item A passed as presented.
Murphy — The Murphy City Council on Oct. 21 approved several routine and substantive items, voting unanimously to renew a franchise with Atmos Energy Corp. and to award a procurement card services contract to Wells Fargo, while adopting a joint denial of an Encore Electric Delivery Company rate-change filing.
The actions were taken during the council's regular meeting after presentations and public comments. Council members voted 7-0 on each recorded action. No roll-call dissent or abstentions were recorded in the meeting minutes for these items.
The council first approved Consent Agenda Item A by motion; the consent agenda groups routine items the council handles as a single vote. Later the council passed a resolution finding that Encore Electric Delivery Company’s application to change rates within the city should be denied and that the city’s reasonable rate-case costs should be reimbursed by the company. City staff described the denial as part of the established interlocal review process for electric utility rate filings.
The council then approved an ordinance renewing a 20-year franchise granting Atmos Energy the right to construct and operate natural gas facilities in city rights-of-way; the new term will expire Dec. 31, 2045. Atmos representatives were not present but had previously provided required documentation.
Finally, the council authorized execution of a procurement card services contract with Wells Fargo. Staff said the procurement-card program (p-card) is intended to replace a longstanding business credit card approach with a system that supports spending controls, vendor restrictions and an electronic reconciliation platform. Staff recommended Wells Fargo in part because the city’s depository banking relationship is already with Wells Fargo and references called during the RFP evaluation favored same-bank arrangements.
All the motions recorded at the meeting passed unanimously; recorded votes were consistent with the seven council members present.
The council did not record individual mover/second names in the public portion of the meeting transcript for each motion; motions were made from the dais and carried without recorded opposition.
