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Cabarrus County to study fees and service contracts for EV chargers after commissioners flag costs
Summary
Staff proposed a mid‑range fee of about $0.25 per kilowatt‑hour for county EV chargers and flagged service‑contract and maintenance needs; commissioners asked staff to gather usage, cost and insurance information and return with recommendations in April.
County facilities staff presented a review of electric‑vehicle charging stations at three county locations — the ITS building, the county parking deck and the Afton Library and Active Living Center — and asked the Board of Commissioners for guidance on potential charging fees and service contracts.
Kyle Billifer said stations are currently free for staff and the public but several are broken and there is no current service contract or towing policy. He recommended a mid‑range rate of about $0.25 per kilowatt‑hour as a starting point for discussion and said a maintenance/service contract would cover diagnostics and parts. "If you start charging, that means when I get the angry call, that tells me it's not charging fast enough," Billifer said, and he cautioned that service calls and vandalism could add unforeseen costs.
Commissioner Pittman supported charging to recoup county costs and suggested revenues should pay down any outstanding debt on equipment. "We certainly do need to charge for this," Pittman said, adding that revenues should be applied to county debt. Other commissioners asked for usage breakdowns (staff vs. public), contract coverage details and replacement cost estimates.
Board discussion weighed options including turning the chargers off, capping circuits or removing the hardware. Billifer told the board he could shut the chargers off and post signage in the near term but recommended the board allow staff time to research policies, compare local municipality approaches, obtain usage data and propose a policy and contract. He said he would return with findings in April.
What’s next: The board asked staff to gather vendor service‑contract terms, usage analytics, debt and maintenance cost estimates, vandalism/insurance options, and examples from peer jurisdictions and to report back at a future meeting in April.
