Council approves first reading of rewritten municipal code sections for utilities; board and staff say changes align code with current utility practice

The Lenoir City Council approved a first reading of a substantially rewritten portion of the city municipal code that updates provisions for utilities and related sections, city staff said.

City staff described the item as a cleanup and consolidation of the municipal code that had not been comprehensively revised since the late 1990s and that had been informally amended in subsequent years. Council members were told the document incorporates policy and operational changes made by the utility over the past decade and that redlined edits were prepared in 2022.

Why it matters: Staff said the changes are intended to bring the ordinance text into alignment with policies the utility has been following for years, to make enforcement and administration clearer, and to ensure that the municipal code references the correct organizational names and authorities.

What the council approved: The council voted to approve the rewritten sections on first reading. City Attorney Johnson and Councilmember Shields made and seconded the motion, respectively, and the motion passed on a…