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Aberdeen approves 11% utilities customer charge, authorizes $64,768.86 street‑light write‑off and multiple equipment purchases
Summary
The Aberdeen Board approved an 11% customer charge for city utilities effective April 1, 2026, authorized a $64,768.86 write-off of street‑light charges and voted to buy meters, transformers and other electric‑department equipment across several contracts; one alderman dissented on many later purchase votes.
The Aberdeen Board of Aldermen on March 3 approved an 11% customer charge on utility accounts effective April 1, 2026, and authorized writing off $64,768.86 in unpaid street‑light bills.
Alderman John Cain moved to implement the 11% customer charge after members discussed guidance from the Tennessee Valley Authority. The motion passed on a roll‑call vote; minutes record that the board voted in favor and the charge will take effect April 1, 2026.
The board also authorized General Manager Lamarcus Thompson to write off $64,768.86 in street‑light charges that TVA had permitted the utility to remove. The board approved a package of purchase requisitions for the electric and water departments in the following categories: pole and transformer repairs, metering systems (hub and leaf meters and endpoints subscriptions), wiring and supply reels, pole‑mount transformer repairs and vehicle upkeep. Several vendor approvals (Tesco hub and leaf meters, Irby supplies, MSTN transformers, Emerald Transformer repairs, Atwell & Gent engineering and others) were approved by majority vote; Alderman John Cain voted "Nay" on a string of later purchase and payment motions as recorded in the minutes.
Board minutes show roll‑call results for many items and note one purchase item (an Irby meter base requisition) did not receive a recorded vote and was flagged as needing a vote.
Why it matters: the 11% charge and the approved capital purchases affect household utility bills and the city utility system budget. The write‑off reduces accounts receivable but does not change rate‑setting mechanics; officials said TVA guidance informed the timing and level of the customer charge.
What happens next: the customer charge takes effect April 1, 2026. Procurement and implementation of the approved equipment will proceed through the city’s purchasing process; minutes record that some items will be shared between electric and water departments on a 60/40 split.
Provenance: Transcript records the rate motion and write‑off authorization beginning with discussion in SEG 003 and continuing through multiple purchase approvals recorded through SEG 009. Excerpts: "a motion was made by Alderman Cain ... to approve the eleven percent (11%) customer charge ... effective date of April 1, 2026" (SEG 003); "authorize Aberdeen Public Utilities General Manager Lamarcus Thompson to write off street light bills in the amount of $64,768.86" (SEG 003); multiple purchase requisition lines approving Tesco, Irby, MSTN Transformers and others (SEGs 007–009).
