Marble Falls council postpones gas-rate decision

By CHRIS PORTER • Daily Tribune Staff

MARBLE FALLS - Thanks to a City Council vote, local natural gas customers won’t see an increase on their monthly bills - at least not for 90 days.

Council members mulled the latest gas rate request from Atmos Energy at their regular meeting Monday, where they also held the first public hearing on a relocation of the city’s leash-free park area. Council members Bryan Hicks, Mike Pilley and Olivia Cribbs were absent.

Atmos representative Randy Harper requested the increase, which would amount to an extra $1.57 average monthly charge for homeowners and $9.21 for businesses.

Dallas-based Atmos, which began serving Marble Falls in 2004, supplies natural gas to more than 1,600 communities in 12 states.

Staying ‘financially healthy’

“Like any business, the cost of operations and maintenance continues to go up,” Harper told the council. “This (increase) helps us remain fiscally healthy.”

City Attorney Patty Akers recommended an outright denial of the increase request.

“We think the better legal option is to deny the request,” Akers said. “We’re trying to avoid having your customers pay more than everybody else.”

Akers said she was concerned that approving the rate increase would mean an immediate rate hike for Marble Falls residents, while gas customers in cities where the rate increase was denied would continue paying their old rates.

State law requires gas utilities to request permission from municipal governments before raising rates. If those requests are denied, the utility may appeal the decision to the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates energy statewide.

One such appeal is already under way, Harper said, though there’s no end in sight in the immediate future.

“We expect a decision sometime in 2008,” he said.

Local gas customers needn’t worry about higher rates right away, Harper added.

“We will not implement the new rates until we get a ruling on the appeal from the Railroad Commission,” he said. “Then, we will give you the same rate as the final ruling from the commission.”

If the city approves the increase, local gas customers wouldn’t be required to help pay the cost of the Railroad Commission appeal, which Harper said is passed on to customers.

“It’s not going to break our hearts, whichever way you choose,” Harper said.

The council opted to delay their decision by 90 days, giving Akers and city staff more time to investigate the rate increase request and weigh options.

In other action, the council held the first public hearing on a measure moving the city’s leash-free dog area from a portion of Falls Creek Park.

The new leash-free zone would be located in a triangular portion of Johnson Park bordered by creeks on two sides, said Parks and Recreation Director Robert Moss.

“The Parks and Recreation Commission has been concerned with the safety of the area,” Moss said.

The current leash-free zone is bordered by streets on multiple sides, and Moss said owners could have a hard time stopping an animal running toward traffic.

That problem would likely be curtailed in the new leash-free zone, he said.

“The whole idea with natural borders is to slow the animals down,” he said. “The fact that the new area is bordered by two creeks at least gives them a chance.”

The measure could be approved at the Oct. 22 council meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. in council chambers, 800 Third St.

chris@thepicayune.com

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Marble Falls council postpones
gas-rate decision