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North Ogden approves five‑year electricity audit contract with Lumen after questions on fee split
Summary
The council approved a five‑year contract with Lumen Utility Consult to audit municipal electricity bills and pursue refunds or reclassifications; Lumen will receive 50% of verified savings/rebates and will monitor billing changes for five years. Council voted 3–1 amid procurement and fee‑reasonableness questions.
North Ogden City Council approved a five‑year agreement with Lumen Utility Consult to audit the city's electricity billing and pursue refunds or rate reclassifications from Rocky Mountain Power, after a robust council discussion about vendor selection and the reasonableness of a 50% fee split.
Peter Brown, the city’s finance director, said the vendor would identify billing errors, pursue refunds where available (a 36‑month lookback was described), and work with the utility on reclassification of accounts and rate schedules. "If they can't find any savings, there's no cost to the city; if they do find savings, we share that savings with them," Brown explained. He and staff said in‑house capacity to perform the required technical work was limited.
Council members raised concerns about the 50% commission and whether staff had sought competing vendors. Council Member Neighbor, who opposed approval in the roll call, said he had professional skepticism about audits and remained unconvinced the contract terms were the best approach for the city. Council Member Pulver and others argued the likely dollar amounts were small and staff resources limited, making the contract a practical option.
Kendall Schmidt, Lumen’s representative, described how the firm calculates savings and ensures changes persist: "We're literally looking at your bill every month, every line item that we helped you change to make sure nothing got switched back and that's how we calculate how much savings there is and then we split it," he said, adding that the firm also handles follow‑through with the utility and public service commission when necessary.
On roll call, the motion to approve the agreement passed 3–1 (Neighbor opposed). Council asked staff to ensure the arrangement is recorded in budget and accounting so future reviews will clearly show the effect of the audits and any payments to Lumen.
Next steps: Lumen will begin a review of city accounts if staff executes the agreement; any identified refunds or rate changes will be subject to Lumen's verification process and the 50% split in the contract that the council approved.
