Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance - 2004-O0021 - Amend Art. XVII Of Chapt. 2 With Regard To Duties Of Electric Utilites Board - 02/19/2004First Reading February 5, 2004 Item No. 34A ORDINANCE NO. 2004-00021 Second Reading February 1-9, 2004 Item No. 19 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE XVIII OF CHAPTER 2 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES WITH REGARD TO THE CREATION, DUTIES, TERMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITIES BOARD; AMENDING ARTICLES I AND II OF CHAPTER 9 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO CONFORM TO CHANGES MADE TO THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITIES BOARD; PROVIDING FOR THE DISBURSEMENT OF REVENUES OF THE CITY'S ELECTRIC UTILITY; DEFINING CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS AND PENALTIES ASSOCIATED THEREWITH; RESERVING SPECIFIC POWERS TO THE CITY COUNCIL; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION. WHEREAS, Article XVIII of Chapter 2 of the Lubbock Code of Ordinances provides for the creation, qualifications conduct and responsibilities of the Electric Utility Board of the City of Lubbock; WHEREAS, the Electric Utility Board currently provided for in Article XVIII of Chapter 2 of the Lubbock Code of Ordinances has nine (9) members and is an advisory only board responsible for providing advice on the efficient operation, maintenance, extension, preservation, competitiveness, and promotion of an orderly economic and businesslike administration of Lubbock Power & Light, the City's municipally owned electric utility; WHEREAS, Section 9-2 of Article I of Chapter 9 of the Lubbock Code of Ordinances provides for and outlines the duties and responsibilities of the director of electric utilities; WHEREAS, Section 9-21 of Article II of Chapter 9 of the Lubbock Code of Ordinances provides for and outlines the distribution of revenues of the City's electric utility; WHEREAS, pursuant to City of Lubbock Resolution No. 2003-R0558, the City Council of the City of Lubbock established a Lubbock Electric Utility Governance Commission to review and evaluate various issues related to the governance of Lubbock Power and Light; WHEREAS, the Lubbock Electric Utility Governance Commission met on a number of occasions to review and evaluate various issues related to the governance of Lubbock Power and Light and reported their findings to the City Council at their regular council meeting on February 5, 2004; WHEREAS, the Lubbock Electric Utility Governance Commission recommended that the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lubbock be amended to establish a new Electric Utility Board, such recommendation being the basis for the proposed ordinance contained herein; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Lubbock deems that the recommendations of the Lubbock Electric Utility Governance Commission are well founded and that it would be in the best interest of the City of Lubbock and its municipally owned electric utility, Lubbock Power & Light, to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Lubbock Power & Light by accepting the recommendation of the Lubbock Electric Utility Governance Commission and amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lubbock in such manner; NOW THEREFORE: BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK SECTION 1: THAT Sections 2-479 through 2-485 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Lubbock, Texas, are hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 2-479. Electric Utility Board Established, Purpose. The City Council hereby establishes and creates a board to be known as the Electric Utility Board. The Board shall be responsible for the governance, management and operations of the City's electric utility. The City's electric utility shall have as its primary purpose the provision of dependable and reliable electric service at reasonable and competitive rates to the citizens of Lubbock while being financially self-sustaining. Sec. 2-480. Members, Qualifications. a) The Board shall consist of nine members appointed by the City Council and shall be considered officers of the City of Lubbock. The City Council may decrease the number of Board members to no less than seven members upon the affirmative recommendation of the Board. The City Council shall consider extensive business and/or financial experience as the primary qualification for serving on the Board. The Mayor, or the Mayor's appointee, shall serve as a non -voting ex officio member of the Board. b) The initial terms of the Board members shall be as follows: five Board members shall serve an initial term of two years and four Board members shall serve an initial term of one year. The length of terms of the initial Board members shall be determined by drawing lots at their first meeting. Following the initial term described above, the term of office for each Board member shall be two years. A Board member may be re -appointed by the City Council but no board member may serve more than three terms on the Board inclusive of the initial term. c) Members of the Board shall be residents and eligible voters of the City of Lubbock, Texas, and must continue to reside and be eligible to vote within the City during their membership on the Board and shall be customers of the City's electric utility provided that service with the City's electric utility is available. Page 2 of 7 d) The Board members shall serve without compensation. The Board may reimburse board members for expenses incurred in performing their duties as board members. e) The Board members shall not be indebted to the City or the City's electric utility, and shall not be interested in the profits or emoluments of any contract, job, work or service for the City or the City's electric utility. The Board members shall not have a substantial interest in any public utility operating within the City of Lubbock and shall fully disclose any potential or actual conflict of interest to the City Council. Substantial interest shall mean substantial interest as defined by the laws of the State of Texas regulating conflicts of interest of officers of municipalities. Sec. 2-481. Powers/Authority Reserved to the City Council. The following powers, as they relate to the City's electric utility, are for the sole and exclusive use and authority of the City Council: a) Establishing, changing, altering or otherwise setting the electric rates of the City's electric utility, including all components thereof, b) Approving the budget of the City's electric utility; c) Exercising powers of eminent domain for the benefit of the City's electric utility; d) Issuing bonds or otherwise creating any indebtedness in the name of the City for the benefit of the City's electric utility that is secured by the general tax revenue of the City, the net revenue of the City's electric utility or the pledging of the assets of the City's electric utility; and e) Requiring the City's electric utility to pay an annual fee to the City equivalent to any fee outlined in Section 2-484 herein. Sec. 2-482. Authority, Duties, Responsibility of the Board. a) The Board shall approve an annual budget and electric rate schedule for the City's electric utility, submit the budget and electric rate schedule to the City Council for approval, and be responsible for the proper implementation of each following adoption. The Board may, as required from time to time, submit to the City Council for its approval amendments to the budget and/or electric rate schedule. b) The Board shall authorize and oversee an audit of the City's electric utility system and shall report any and all findings of such audit to the City Council. The Board may authorize such audit to be performed by an external auditor. The external auditors must be a certified public accounting (CPA) firm that has the experience and Page 3 of 7 depth of staff to audit the City's electric utility in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and contractual requirements. The auditors report must be completed in sufficient time such that the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) may be presented to the City Council at the first Council meeting in January following the fiscal year end. The auditors are accountable to the Board and will have access to direct communication with the Board if staff is unresponsive to auditor recommendations or if the auditors consider such communication necessary to fulfill their legal and professional responsibilities. c) To the extent authorized by law and subject to the City's Charter and Code of Ordinances, the Board shall have all authority necessary to govern, manage, administer and operate the City's electric utility including the authority to contract for accounting, financial, human resource, legal and other services separate and apart from those services currently being provided by the City of Lubbock. Furthermore, this authority includes, without limitation, the right of the Board to enter into contracts in the name of the City relating solely to the operation and management of the City's electric utility including the right of the Board to establish any and all policies relating to the administration and implementation of contracts related solely to the City's electric utility. If the Board contracts for legal services separate and apart from the City Attorney's office, the legal counsel for the Board shall also report to and be responsible to the City Council of the City of Lubbock. d) The City Manager shall consult with and seek the advice and approval of the Board prior to appointing and/or removing the director of the City's electric utility. The City Manager shall report to the City Council the Board's advice and findings regarding the director of the City's electric utility. No person related within the second degree by affinity, or within the third degree of consanguinity, to any member of the Board, the City Council or the City Manager shall be appointed as director of the City's electric utility. Sec. 2-483. Director of Electric Utilities. a) The Director of Electric Utilities shall be the chief administrative officer of the City's electric utility and shall report to the Board for the proper administration, management and operation of the City's electric utility as directed and authorized by the Board, the City Charter and/or the City's ordinances and resolutions. The Director shall be responsible for preparing the annual budget and fee schedule for the City's electric utility and shall present the budget and fee schedule to the Board for their approval prior to the Board submitting such budget and fee schedule to the City Council. b) The Director of Electric Utilities shall not have a substantial interest in any public electric utility operating within the City of Lubbock and shall fully disclose in writing any interest, including any potential or actual conflict of interest, to the Board. Page 4 of 7 c) A Director of Electric Utilities that ceases to possess any of the qualifications outlined in this section shall forfeit his position and any contract in which the Director shall or may become interested may be declared void by the Board. Failure by the Director of Electric Utilities to disclose the interest outlined in Section 2-483(b) above shall be a Class C misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof, such employment shall be forfeited. See. 2-484. Disbursement of Net Revenues a) The City shall not require the City's electric utility to reimburse any other fund of the City for monies or funds charged or assessed to the City's electric utility which were incurred on or prior to February 5, 2004, unless otherwise required by law. Furthermore, prior to paying any fee equivalent to a franchise fee, making any payment in lieu of taxes, and prior to disbursing any net operating revenues of the City's electric utility, the Board shall first fully meet all current bond reserve and fund obligations contained in any bond issuance and/or covenant for the City's electric utility. b) After providing for sufficient funds to meet the obligations contained in Section 2-484(a) above but prior to reimbursing any other fund of the City, paying any fee equivalent to a franchise fee, making any payment in lieu of taxes, and prior to disbursing any net operating revenues of the City's electric utility, the Board shall first fully fund the following items: i) An Operations Reserve containing reserves equivalent to three months operating expenses as determined by the previous fiscal year of the City's electric utility; ii) A Rate Stabilization Reserve containing reserves equivalent to two months operating expenses as determined by the previous fiscal year of the City's electric utility; and iii) An Electric Utility Development Reserve containing reserves equivalent to one months operating expenses as determined by the previous fiscal year of the City's electric utility. This Electric Utility Development Fund shall be used for the sole purpose of meeting the electric utility demand of any rapid or unforeseen increase in residential and/or commercial development. c) Following proper funding of the above described funds, the Board shall pay to the City a fee equivalent to a franchise fee and payment in lieu of taxes as required by the City. However, this fee shall be equal to the franchise fee paid by any competing electric utility serving within the City of Lubbock and competing with the City's electric utility system or five percent (5%) of the gross revenue generated from all retail electric sales, whichever is less. d) Any net operating revenues remaining, as calculated by the accrual method of accounting for governmental entities, shall be refunded to the ratepayers of the City's Page 5 of 7 electric utility within six months following the fiscal year in which the net revenues are realized. e) This section shall be included in and become a part of each annual budget ordinance of the City of Lubbock. Sec.2-485. Amendments. a) The City Council shall not amend, alter, delete or change any provision contained in this ordinance without first conducting a public hearing following proper notice as described below. b) Prior to conducting a public hearing as described above, the City Council shall provide notice of such hearing. The notice must state clearly the time and place of the hearing and must clearly state the proposed amendment, alteration or change. The notice must be published at least thirty days before the date for public hearing and at least once a week for three consecutive weeks. The last day of publication must not be less than one week or more than two weeks before the date of the hearing. The notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation and that is published at least six days a week in the city of Lubbock. SECTION 2: THAT Section 9-2 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Lubbock, Texas, is hereby amended by adding a sentence to the end of Section 9-2 that shall read as follows: "The director of electrical utilities shall report to the Electric Utility Board as authorized in Chapter 2, Article XVIII of the Lubbock Code of Ordinances and shall perform and maintain the duties, responsibilities and qualifications outlined therein." The remainder of Section 9-2 not specifically amended herein shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 3: THAT Section 9-21 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Lubbock, Texas, is hereby deleted in its entirety. SECTION 4: THAT following the second reading and final adoption of this ordinance the City Council shall appoint nine citizens to serve the initial terms on this Electric Utility Board in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined herein. SECTION 5: THAT the City Council finds and declares that sufficient written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of this meeting of the Council was posted at a designated place convenient to the public at the City Hall for the time required by law preceding this meeting, that such place of posting was readily accessible at all times to the general public, and that all of the foregoing was done as required by law at all times during which this Ordinance and the subject matter thereof has been discussed, considered and formally acted upon. Page 6 of 7 The City Council further ratifies, approves and confirms such written notice and the contents of posting thereof. SECTION 6: THAT should any paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Ordinance be declared unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, the remainder of this Ordinance shall not be affected thereby. SECTION 7: THAT the City Secretary is hereby authorized and directed to cause publication of the descriptive caption of this Ordinance as an alternative method of publication provided by law. AND IT IS SO ORDERED Passed by the City Council on the first reading on this 5th day of February , 2004. Passed by the City Council on the second reading on thisl9 day of February , 2004. ATTEST: Re ecca Garza, City Secretary CS APPROVED AS TO CONTENT: C Carroll McDonald Director of Electric Utilities APPROVED AS TO FORM: N(atthew"L. Vade Natural Resources Attorney KE/cedocs/Elec Util Board Ordinance 2-5-04 Page 7 of 7 McDOUGAL, NXAYOR