Napoleon City Council approves police contract, OKs fuel-tax audit and utility rate adjustments; energy-efficiency renewal moved to next reading

Napoleon — The Napoleon City Council on Oct. 20, 2025, approved a collective bargaining agreement with the city’s police union, authorized the finance director to seek a third‑party audit to recoup fuel taxes, adopted the monthly power‑supply cost adjustment factor and moved a proposed renewal of the city’s Efficiency Smart energy‑efficiency contract with American Municipal Power to a second reading.

The council unanimously approved Resolution 043-25, which the agenda describes as the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Napoleon and Local 240 Napoleon Police Officers Association, IUPA AFL‑CIO, for the term beginning Dec. 1, 2025, through Nov. 30, 2026, and authorized the city manager to execute the agreement. The roll call recorded seven affirmative votes (Bobby; Jordan; Tom; Dr. Dave; Britney; Ross; Ken). No no votes or abstentions were recorded.

Why it matters: the labor agreements and utility actions approved or advanced at the meeting affect city payroll commitments and the cost of municipal electric service, and the fuel‑tax audit could produce one‑time revenue recoveries for city departments.

Police contract and other labor items

Councilmembers voted to approve the police contract laid out in Resolution 043-25. The resolution as read on the agenda authorizes the city manager to execute the agreement and declares an emergency. The council’s roll call on that resolution was unanimous in favor. A separate resolution to approve a different collective bargaining agreement (Resolution 042-25) was removed from the agenda at the request of staff for additional discussion and did not come up for a vote.

Energy programs and utility rules

The council heard discussion on Ordinance 041-25, described on the agenda as an ordinance approving the execution of an Efficiency Smart schedule with American Municipal Power (AMP). City staff explained the Efficiency Smart component is billed as part of the AMP invoice and that the city’s portion of the program costs is roughly $19,000 per month. City Manager Laurie said the $19,000 figure is included in the AMP bill and that participation in AMP programs “goes into the calculation that reduces our cost for capacity.” Kevin, a utility staff member, described the $19,000 number as a small percentage of the total AMP bill (which staff said averages about $1.1 million per month) and recommended the city continue the program. The council voted unanimously to move the ordinance to a second reading rather than adopt it that night.

Power supply cost adjustment factor

The council approved the city’s power supply cost adjustment (PSCA) factor for October 2025 (three‑month average factor 0.00913). Kevin told the council that the AMP Fremont Energy Center (a joint facility from which the city receives a portion of its supply) had unplanned repairs and an increased budget of about $1,500,000. He cautioned the AMP board had voted to increase charges to participating members to offset that cost and that, while the effect on any single customer should be small after spreading the expense across members, the city may see slight future rate increases as AMP records additional costs. Kevin said the Fremont facility produces roughly 32% of the city’s electric supply and described the repairs as long‑term fixes rather than short‑term “band‑aid” work.

Fuel tax audit engagement

On Item K2, the council authorized the finance director to enter into an engagement letter with JP Mueller LLC to audit city fuel usage and seek refunds of road‑use fuel taxes where eligible. The finance director told council there is no upfront cost, that JP Mueller bills a contingency fee equal to 25% of any recovered funds, and that the firm’s state claims typically look back up to three years. The council voted unanimously to approve the engagement.

Other votes and procedural items

- Ordinance 037-25, updating on‑street parking restrictions (Schedule 1) for several streets, was advanced to a third reading by unanimous roll call.

- Ordinance 038-25, amending the city rules governing the sale of electrical service (Rule 12 and Rule 26, Appendix A), was advanced to a third reading by unanimous roll call.

- Resolution 040-25, a proposed three‑year collective bargaining agreement with the firefighters’ association (term Jan. 1, 2026–Dec. 31, 2028), was read and moved to a third reading; council reported unanimous support at the time of the second‑reading action.

- The council approved payment of bills and financial reports by unanimous consent.

- The council recessed into executive session to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official. On return from executive session the council recorded no action.

Public comments

During the citizen‑communication period, residents identified themselves and briefly addressed the council. Cynthia Myers introduced herself and said she plans to run for a council seat; Shelly Conroy identified herself as a long‑time resident who wants to help address homelessness and infrastructure; and Addison Grama said he is an Eagle Scout interested in contributing to the city.

What’s next

Items moved to additional readings (the Efficiency Smart ordinance and the two ordinances listed above) will return for further consideration at subsequent meetings. City staff will proceed with the JP Mueller engagement and will monitor AMP communications about potential additional costs tied to the Fremont facility repairs.

Quotes in this story are taken verbatim from the city council transcript and attributed to speakers appearing on the meeting record.