By KEITH GRANT
They may not look like St. Nick, but Long Beach city officials will soon be able to check on residents' water use without knocking on a single door, or sneaking down a chimney.
The City Council did a little holiday shopping at its Dec. 5 meeting by approving $1.6 million in bonds to buy remote-read water meters for every home in the city to replace the 30-year-old meters currently in use. The existing meters, council president Joel Crystal said, are in disrepair and not providing entirely accurate readings.
Each of the roughly 14,000 households throughout the city will be equipped with the new meters during a six-month installation period, the cost of which is included in the bond figure. The new meters will then be read remotely from a city vehicle that will circle communities once a month, officials said.
City Manager Bruce Nyman raved about the new 21st Century meter reading wonders, calling the device "the next generation water meter."
"These are the newest ones being installed," he said. "Most municipalities in the U.S. are going to these." Officials said that the city's meter readers are currently able to access only 25 percent of all Long Beach residences, leaving 75 percent not billed for actual usage.
"It's fair to both the taxpayers and the city to get new ones," Mr. Crystal said.
AMR Data Corporation of Burlington, MA, won the city contract with a $1,561,014 bid for the automated system, which is said to have a 14 to 18 year lifespan. City comptroller Michael Barlotta said the city can pay the bond off over 8 to 10 years at a roughly 5 percent interest rate, bringing total interest to approximately $800,000, he said.
While temperatures were quickly dropping outside City Hall, such numbers sent tempers occasionally flaring inside during the lengthy meeting as citizens questioned the addition to the city's current debt. When told the city currently held $38.1 million in outstanding bonds, resident Mindy Warshaw said, "We have a $38 million debt, and we're looking to make it a $40 million debt!"
Though the city recently received an increased credit rating, resident Mark Jackson charged, "Our bond rating is very poor. It's a hairline above a junk bond." With the city also prepared to bond $275,000 to refurbish one of the fire department's tower ladder trucks, Mr. Jackson told the council, "We've been bonding and bonding. I defy any of you to show me any municipality that bonds six figures!"
City officials responded that most financial experts and planners say that if a municipality's finances are sound, it's more prudent to bond for capital improvements than to pay it out of the budget. In the case of the water meters, Mr. Nyman said the city would experience lower labor costs as city employees won't be needed to personally check on meters. Instead, the new meters will be read remotely throughout the city in less than two days. Furthermore, the city will know immediately when pipes burst during freezing temperatures.
Asked if city employees will be laid off as a result of the purchase, Mr. Nyman said, "These are civil servants. Eventually they can be absorbed into our other departments, but they won't be fired."
To charges by some residents that the city has not made a habit of planning well enough into the future, Mr. Barlotta said the city has, in fact, had a five-year capital plan in place, which he called "the Bible for the city and future capital needs." Ms. Warshaw said she simply hoped the city would not ultimately be hit by its debts unsuspectingly, as Nassau County was.
"I think we're on a well managed plan," Mr. Crystal responded. "I don't think we should even be associated with Nassau County."
Mr. Crystal said that having more accurate water readings may not only save a number of homeowners money, but could also bring the city money from households that were undercharged due to the inaccurate readings. "There will be a better conservation of water, too," he said.
