City resolution opposes legislation

Posted

Brenda Wade Schmidt
Enterprise

The Flandreau City Council passed a resolution at its most recent meeting, opposing a bill in the legislature that could prevent the community from expanding its electrical utility as it grows.
Senate Bill 66 was written to prevent towns such as Flandreau from providing municipal electricity to homes and businesses that would be annexed into the city limits in the future. Instead, those new areas would continue to be served by a rural electric company.
Rural electric and municipal electric representatives have been working on a compromise on the changes, which were initiated by the rural electrics. District 8 has three rural electric companies, including East River Electric, Sioux Valley Energy and Central Electric. It also is home to four communities that are municipal electric providers: Flandreau, Colman, Madison and Howard.

As of late last week, the bill was not scheduled for hearing.
The resolution says cities with municipal electric utilities have many benefits, including being able to respond to the community’s needs, providing local control of rates, reinvest revenue into the community and encouraging economic development. The resolution will be shared with lawmakers.
“It is the only thing we can do to get the entire governing body on record,” Jeff Pederson said of the council’s unanimous support.
Rural electrics, including Sioux Valley Energy near Colman and East River Electric in Madison, oppose expansion by municipalities into their rural service areas because it would mean a loss of future revenue. The rural electrics plan decades in advance for growth areas and the energy needed to serve them, Chris Studer, chief member and public relations officer at East River, told audience members and District 8 representatives at this year’s legislative cracker barrel.
Municipalities should not be able to take over just the profitable areas where they want to provide electricity, he said. Rural electrics are required to provide all customers within their territory with power.
In other city business, the council approved pay for police officer Jerod Mosley. Once hired, he will fill a position created by a recent resignation, and his pay will start at $16.77 an hour. He will begin his duties after completing all of the screenings for the job.
Mosley, 31, is a native of Virginia, lives in Sioux Falls, is a member of the Sioux Falls police reserve and has been employed by the Social Security Administration. He served four years in the U.S. Army and worked two years in security patrol.
He was one of two people interviewed for the position.