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Council votes to stop billing city-owned properties for utilities after tense exchange
Summary
The Hannibal City Council voted April 7 to instruct the Board of Public Works not to charge utilities to city-owned properties now and in the future. Councilwoman Azataya objected to the procedure and said the vote violated the charter; councilors said the item was on the agenda and the motion carried with one dissent.
The Hannibal City Council voted April 7 to instruct the Board of Public Works not to bill city-owned properties for utilities, extending the long-standing practice across all current and future city facilities.
The motion, made during discussion of Board of Public Works practices, passed on a roll-call vote with one dissent. Councilwoman Azataya voted no; the five other members voting on the roll call recorded support for the measure.
John Ortworth, president of the Board of Public Works, had asked the council for clear direction on whether the board should continue its current utility-pricing practice for facilities that are city-owned. He said the board acts like a public utility and wanted formal council guidance ahead of a scheduled rate hearing.
City Manager Andy Dorian and other council members framed the change as a clarification of prior discussion: the council previously indicated the city should not pay internal utility charges for city-owned buildings, and the motion was intended to make that direction explicit and uniform.
Councilwoman Azataya objected after the clerk declared a related resolution adopted, saying the matter had not been made available to the public and that voting in favor “goes against our charter” and the oath taken by council members. Mayor McCoy and other councilors disputed that characterization, saying the item had been included in the public agenda packet and that the council had previously discussed the policy.
After the exchange the council proceeded to a roll-call vote on the motion to instruct the Board of Public Works not to charge utilities to city-owned properties. The clerk recorded affirmative votes from Councilmen Fleetwood, Munger, Haycraft, Cohen and Lueders; Councilwoman Azataya voted no. The motion carried.
Supporters said the agreement formalizes a long-standing internal practice that treats city services as city functions and avoids intra-city billing. Opponents warned the policy shifts costs onto taxpayers or ratepayers depending on how the board accounts for the change, and raised procedural concerns about notice and public availability of specific settlement documents later on the agenda.
The council did not reverse the vote; members said future effects will depend on budget and rate-setting at the Board of Public Works and on how costs are allocated in upcoming budgets and audits.
