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Hastings council rejects move to abolish Utility Advisory Board after heated public comment
Summary
After more than an hour of public comment and debate, the Hastings City Council voted 1-7 to reject an ordinance that would have eliminated the city's Utility Advisory Board, with residents and current board members urging the council to retain volunteer oversight and technical expertise.
The Hastings City Council voted 1-7 on Jan. 23 to reject Ordinance 48-25, a proposal to eliminate the city's Utility Advisory Board, after an extended public-comment period and council debate.
Residents and current advisory-board members packed the meeting and urged the council to preserve the board as a layer of technical oversight and public transparency. "I have been here and I've been on the board 10 years, chair for 9 years," said Bill Heitzman, a long-serving utility board member who told the council the board is "very dedicated to the services that are provided to utilities." Scott Coles, another board member, called the advisory body "the city's most consistent and visible…
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