Clinton City Council is going to consider taking money from an account designed to keep electric rates low, or at least not as high as they potentially could be, to pay legal fees.
It’s Item 11 on the Council agenda for this Monday night.
The Clinton City Council’s regular monthly meeting will be Jan. 8, 6 pm in the PS Bailey Council Chambers of the MS Bailey Municipal Center, 211 N. Broad St., Clinton. The meeting is open to the public, and streams live on the City’s Website.
Item 11 says, “City Council to consider request from finance director and city manager to transfer funding from Rate Stabilization Account to reimburse the General Fund for legal fees and consulting expenses related to PMPA* and discussions related to Rate Stabilization Account.”
The fund came up about $6 Million short when it was discovered it had been tapped to pay city expenses, which were unbudgeted or over-budget. Council has put in place safeguards to ensure that doesn’t happen again or, at least, that council has some say in the expenditures.
The City hired a consultant to find the money and identified what bills it paid in the past several years.
In other agenda items, Council will have a time to hear from citizens regarding Agenda Items, register before the meeting starts; 2 employees with 5 years service each will be recognized: David Lollis & Josh Howell; 12 awards will be presented for Christmas Decorations and Christmas Parade Winners; consideration of 2024 council meeting schedule; 2nd and final reading of an ordinance to suspend the blue laws (required every 6 months); presentation by Ben Barron, Habitat for Humanity; discussion of ARPA** funds at the YMCA; reports from the Recreation Committee; and reports from council members and others.
The Council is scheduled to have a closed session: Personnel Matters within the administration department, and Economic Development contract. Rules for these Executive Sessions are guided by the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. (South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 30 - Public Records - Chapter 4)
The Clinton City Council’s regular monthly meetings are the 1st Monday of each month (except holidays).
A link to the city's Facebook page here.
*PMPA = Piedmont Municipal Power Agency, the city’s electricity supplier.
**ARPA = the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act.
