Melbourne council approves continued search for new water meters and software; funding to be added to next budget

The Melbourne City Council on March 9 voted to continue searching for water meters and meter-management software that would replace the city’s aging equipment. The motion, made by Council member Gary Fricke and seconded by Beth Smith, passed with the vote recorded as "all ayes."

Clerk Mary Pothast told the council the item had been tabled from February and that members had reviewed quotes and compared products from an additional vendor before resuming discussion. Council members emphasized the goal is to find meters and software that meet Melbourne’s needs; they directed staff to build funding for the upgrade into the next budget.

The meeting record notes the council also agreed to increase the city’s minimum cyber insurance recommendation during the same discussion, and that NIMS training requirements are temporarily on hold due to a partial outage of FEMA resources. The council did not adopt a specific vendor or price and left procurement details to follow-up staff work and future budget deliberations.

The council packet lists overall city expenses and revenues published with the meeting materials; the financial summary shows expenses of $45,023.78 and revenues of $79,445.80 across funds. The transcript records "all ayes" for the motion but does not list an itemized vote tally by name.