Police officer contracts to be created
Citing problems with the current digital-only meters, Cumby Mayor Doug Simmerman proposed replacing those meters with new master meters that could be read manually, a project with a total price tag of $96,000, but no action was taken at the Jan. 12 council meeting.
The digital-only meters are only readable by radio signal, and according to Simmerman, the newer meters would not only be readable by radio but also manually in cases of a malfunction. This in turn would aid in correctly billing residents for their water use instead of sending a city-average bill.
“[The RG3 meter problem] is not good for the city and not good for the consumer,” Simmerman said.
The project would replace 480 meters, and according to Simmerman, the meters do not have to be replaced in one installment, softening a hard financial hit into multiple payments the city would make.
“It’s a costly process, but we’re trying to keep it manageable,” Simmerman said.
Simmerman said the meter project “was something to think about” for future meetings.
In other business, the city authorized city attorney Leigh Thompson to create an employee contract for Cumby Police Department officers.
T h e council also rejected to its boundary’s inclusion with the Hunt County Emergency Services District No. 1. It would only include a small strip of land next to the interstate, Simmerman said, and Thompson said the passage or rejection of the inclusion would not mean much.
In an effort to keep up with changing times, the council also approved a motion to adopt a new employee handbook and referred the motion to a committee consisting of Thompson and council members Betty McCarter and Sheryl Lackey.