Residents, city manager discuss Claremore utilities

Reprinted with permission from the Claremore Progress. This article originally appeared on Jun 21, 2016. Support local journalism with a subscription or a day pass for $1.99 :)

Claremore residents attended the city council meeting Tuesday night to voice concerns over utility costs. Many residents have seen a significant spike in their utility costs over the last several months and are looking for answers.

“I am seeing my friends, my neighbors, my family members, that have sold wedding rings, that have sold furniture out of their house, that are going to churches, that are literally not making their house payments just so they can afford their electric bills. That says there is a problem in our community,” said Shelly Taylor, a Claremore resident who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting. “There may be other people in this room that their bills are not as high as mine, but to them it is the same increase, it is the same pain, it is the same financial burden, regardless of what level it is.”

City Manager Jim Thomas disagreed with claims that there have been any abnormal increases, and said all increases were only from customer consumption.

“As I have watched this thing over the last 30 days, people have come and talked to us ... and we have sat down with them and showed them their history, and said this is what you consumed for three months last year versus this year — has there been a change, there has been a change — but it has not been these wild spikes that we have been seeing on the Internet,” Thomas said. “Those doors are still open. As individuals have come forward and asked, we have sat down with them individually, privately, and helped them better understand their consumption.”

Thomas opened the discussion on the smart meters at the meeting, followed by a presentation from Taylor.

“My goal tonight is to put to bed once and for all the inaccurate public statements made on social media regarding the city administration and the smart meter electric, water system in place,” Thomas said.

Taylor brought with her electric bills given to her at a recent community meeting. She said when studying the bills, she found increases between 23 percent and 572 percent, and she said she has seen a 319 percent increase at her home.

“I understand that there has to be adjustments and upgrades, but in the process of them upgrading, I do not think it is understood how much the community is financially hurting. When we have to choose between food and electric that is not okay. When we have to pick between our health and electric, that is not okay,” Taylor said.

Mayor Bill Flanagan said ultimately the individual controls the consumption levels and the cost, but the meters are accurate. He encourages residents with variation in their bills to go to the utility office to find a solution to the increase.

“To communicate on social media and not come in to talk to the utility billing office is the wrong way to get a resolution to a problem,” Thomas said.

However, many residents said efforts to find a solution at the utility office can be frustrating. One council member, Scott Savage, said it was difficult for him to find out why his water increased. He eventually discovered his previous meter was reading false and he was being charged inaccurately for 20 years.

“When I came in to talk, I was a bit like a lot of you were, I was not very happy when I left, the answers that I got. So, I went and talked to Jim immediately about it. We as a city and our utility department we have to be patient and show you. I think if we can, you will understand what the differences are. We need to do that as a city to every one of you who have a problem. Everyone should get a good answer,” Savage said.

Council member Don Purkey wants residents to find the problem and a solution.

“People need to be able to understand the additional cost is somewhere else, we should also be able to have a measurement on the accuracy. It could be very serious with what the old (meter) was (reading), but with these big swings,” said Purkey.

Thomas emphasized the swings are not actually occurring and the meter is not to blame for increases. The increases are from customer consumption, he said.

“I think you need to be real careful councilman. This is America, we believe in the freedom of speech and anybody can say anything, and that is why when I opened up I said, ‘trust the people, tell the truth.’ The city has been telling the truth. We have been very transparent through this whole process. You (Purkey) went to Atlanta, Mayor Flanagan went to Atlanta. We saw the technology. To question the integrity of General Electric and the city of Claremore is wrong,” Thomas said.

Both Thomas and Flanagan said the smart meters are 99.9 percent accurate. In a PowerPoint presentation, Thomas said the city expects to see a $1.1 million increase in revenue because of accuracy, with a $190,000 savings in operation costs.

Residents also expressed concerned about how the meters measured electric usage.

“There is no average when it comes to kilowatt hours. It just measures the watts in your house and translates it to kilowatt-hours, and it’s one for one,” said Larry Hughes, Claremore public works authority director.

“At this point in time, you are being billed on usage, period. No spikes, no variation of rates, no high cost rates or lower cost rates,” Flanagan said.

Flanagan said the meters do have the ability to measure peak usage, and while measuring peak usage is a national trend, it is not how Claremore currently bills residential customers.

“That may be some time down the road, but as of today we are being billed based on reading at the beginning of the month and at the end of the month,” said Flanagan.

Currently the city has not passed a policy on opt-out options, but Hughes said those who opt out will have a down payment and monthly fee added to their bill to pay for utility workers to read the meters.

Taylor said 15,000 people are following her updates on her Facebook page “Claremore Electric Petition.”

Thomas disagrees that thousands of people are seeing electric consumption spikes.

“I don’t think there are 15,000 people complaining about their meters,” said Thomas. “I am confident there is not. I mean people call me about their trash, about a dead skunk that is out in their road, you know why there was a blink — but they won’t call me about their electric bill, I just don’t buy that one bit. I do not believe there are 15,000 people waiting to protest their electric bill. It is not possible.”

Some residents left the meeting feeling like the issue remains unresolved, and some said they felt unheard.

“I felt like everything was just swept under the rug,” Taylor said.

For Claremore residents concerned about bill variations or consumption spikes, the first step is to visit the utility office, or contact the office at 918-341-2895.