Eighty-eight utility customers in New Bloomfield received a refund as a credit on their utility bill this month. The city's board of aldermen voted last month to no longer require utility security deposits from new customers and decided to return all of the security deposits it currently had stored in the city's bank account.
Prior to this decision, the city required all new utility customers to put down a $100 security deposit. For many, their utility bill this month was less than their security deposit, so they not only received a $0 utility bill, but also received a check.
The city decided to amend its utility billing procedures last month in an effort to streamline its accounting practices.
City Clerk and Municipal Court Clerk Terra Guittar previously told the Fulton Sun that the city's large rental market has caused the utility deposit fund to see a lot of activity.
"People come in, they put their deposit down and then three months later, they move out," Guittar previously told the Fulton Sun.
Landlords and property owners are ultimately responsible for whatever bills are left with a property. For that reason, Guittar said the city always receives its money and doesn't have a strong necessity for a utility security deposit.
In other news, at the city's board of aldermen meeting Thursday, the board discussed the city's ballot question which passed during Tuesday's election. The ballot question's passage allows the city to forgo a municipal election if candidates are running unopposed. The city pays the county clerk's office $750 every time it holds an election.
"It's a good little chunk for us," Guittar said at the meeting.
The city will still be required to file a notice listing open positions on its board. If, however, candidates who file by the filing date run uncontested, they will be allowed to fill the seat for which they filed without the city paying for an election.
"Hopefully it won't be uncontested and people will want to get involved," Guittar said.
The board also briefly discussed this year's trash service 52 cent rate increase. The city uses Republic Services, previously Allied Waste, for its trash service. As part of the city's contract with the waste disposal company, customers see an annual rate increase. Trash service customers will see the 52 cent increase starting June 1.