By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
The Bowie City Council approved the first reading of a rate ordinance that lowers the electric rate of small business customers by 4.8 percent expected to save the average customer $14.40 a month.
Council gave unanimous approval to the ordinance which affects some 656 customers.
The council also continues to update utility related issues voting to rewrite portions of the utility billing procedures code so it aligns with the latest billing procedures. During the last two years the city’s utility billing system has undergone major changes including new software, automated reading and late last year changes to the billing periods going to the 1st and the 15th for bill delivery. There also were time changes for late bills to help those who may be on a fixed income avoid a late fee.
Recently, councilors raised questions about the amount of penalty assessed and also the time period for the penalty. When the topic came up last month it was tabled as the council received copies of the utility billing ordinance to review.

In other topics, City Manager Bert Cunningham reported he had submitted a letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regarding an action plan on repairing the Old Bowie Lake Dam. Initial engineering costs top $200,000 before any repairs are done. Cunningham has indicated to TCEQ the city does not want to spend money on something that provides no benefit to the city through customers or other revenue and he suggested the city might sell it.

Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.