LUMBERTON — Customers who use electricity from the City of Lumberton will see an increased service charge on their bill soon, but the total amount of those bills will go up only marginally after changes to the city’s electric rates were approved by City Council during Monday’s meeting at City Hall.
The service charge will increase for all city electric customers; for residential customers this increase will be from a $10 charge on their current bill to a $13 change in the 2024-25 fiscal year. However, the energy charge per kilowatt hour will go down — for residential customers this rate will decrease from $0.1193 to $0.1170 — so city officials believe the impact to the overall electric bills paid by residents will be minimal.
The current monthly bill for a residential customer using 1000 kilowatts of electricity per hour would be $129.30, Deputy City Manager Brandon Love said; with the new rates, that same bill would be $130, an increase of just 70 cents.
“By reducing the power rate, that levels out the bill, so it’s essentially negligible,” Love said.
The measure was approved by the board unanimously.
Love stated that the service charge increase is simply “passing along” rate increases from Duke Energy that the city has incurred.
“It costs so much to be able to deliver power to each individual address, and that is essentially what the increase is,” Love said.
Additionally, inflation is a factor, said Greg Prevatte, the city’s electric utilities director.
Councilman John Cantey pointed out that the city has made an effort in recent years to minimize the impact that rate hikes from Duke Energy would have on city residents.
“I just want to make sure all of our residents are aware of — because as soon as you start saying electrical rate increases, it’s a panic — but the City of Lumberton, over the last nine years, has absorbed all of Duke Energy’s rate increases,” Cantey said. “Over those last nine years, we have not had a substantial electrical rate increase (for residents), because the City of Lumberton absorbed that for the residents. So please, whenever you hear electrical rate increase, it’s just a part of doing business, because we have taken care of the residents for the last nine years.”
The service charge for customers categorized as small commercial will increase from $22 to $30; medium commercial from $50 to $75; and large commercial from $100 to $250. The energy charge per kilowatt hour will drop from $0.1363 to $0.1245 for small commercial; it will not change for medium commercial, staying at $0.0940, or large commercial, staying at $0.0891.
Special use permit approved for RCSO expansion
Council also approved rezoning and special use permit requests by Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins which will allow a new structure to be built at one of the Sheriff’s Office’s office locations on Commerce Avenue, near the Lumberton Regional Airport.
A structure will be added at the site as a hangar for a helicopter, which the Sheriff’s Office acquired last year and has put to use.
“The helicopter is actually there now behind the building, under an open shelter,” Wilkins said. “All we’re doing is duplicating that building, it’s 30 (feet) by 60, 16 feet tall, except this building will be enclosed with a small office inside of it that will house the helicopter.”
This required a rezoning from M-3 (planned industrial district) to SUP M-2 (special use permit heavy manufacturing).
RCSO acquired the Commerce Avenue building in recent years and uses it as a satellite office, with office space for about 25 to 30 deputies, primarily in the department’s various special investigative divisions.
Due to the location’s proximity to the airport, RCSO has contacted the FAA to make sure no issues would arise with flight plans, etc., between the helicopter and any airport traffic; the FAA has given approval for the site as a home base for the helicopter, Wilkins said.
City recognizes Lumberton Jr. High boys soccer team
The board recognized the Lumberton Jr. High School boys soccer team after the Vikings won the Robeson County middle school championship for the third straight season last week. The team completed an undefeated 13-0 season.
Councilman Owen Thomas mentioned the accomplishments of captains Henry Diaz, Axel Lucas and Geovanne Ortiz, along with Braydo Aguilar, who scored 42 goals in 13 games including “about five” tricks, and Lonnie Porter, who scored two goals in a 3-1 championship-game victory over Red Springs.
“Continue to work hard on and off the field,” Thomas said. “Obviously, off the field is a little bit more important normally than on the field, so you guys keep it up and do what you’ve got to to do in the classroom.”
City modifies GED/high school diploma requirement for employees
Council approved the modification of a city ordinance which will change the educational requirements to be considered for hiring as a city employee.
A GED or high school diploma will no longer be required, so long as the applicant is otherwise qualified for the position.
“Through conversation with some key department heads, management staff is recommending making some amendments to the requirements of a GED or high school diploma for hiring,” City Attorney Holt Moore said. “The intent is to hopefully avoid losing applicants who would otherwise be good and needed employees due to those technical requirements.”
The ordinance states that the employee will be required to obtain either a GED or high school diploma within one year of their hiring, or that extensions may be granted by the employee’s department head if they can provide evidence of progress towards obtaining one. Other certifications or academic achievements may also be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
In other business, Council approved the demolition of an unsafe structure at 1101 Martin Luther King Drive. The property is a former service station, with several old vehicles sitting to the side and rear of the building; Inspections Director Ben Andrews said that the demolition and clearing of the property will require a joint effort of his department, Public Works and the Lumberton Police Department.
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