Voting ward and utility billing changes ahead for Lexington
A plethora of presentations were on deck at the Lexington City Council meeting on Monday, October 11. Updates were provided by various city departments.
FSDC’s Karen Palma, left, and Tim Tilley accept the City’s proclamation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. {Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart/Davidson Local}
Before the council and those in attendance heard from City staff, a proclamation was read by Councilor Whitney Brooks recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Family Services Executive Director, Tim Tilley, and staff member, Karen Palma, accepted the award on behalf of the organization. Prior to both speaking, Brooks acknowledged the Lexington Police Department for being second in the nation in initiating the Offender-Focused Domestic Violence Initiative.
Tilley noted that since 1995, there have been 24 deaths in Davidson County as a result of domestic violence. Four of those who died were children. Palma stated that the greatest impact lies in holding offenders accountable and it helps when there is support from the top down.
“It takes all of us, not just two agencies,” said Palma.
With the municipal election approaching in March, Tammy Absher, director of the Office of Community and Business Development, confirmed to the council that preliminary findings from the 2020 Census indicate there is a need to make adjustments to the wards voting districts.
The current ward structure was approved by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1987. This was in response to a federal court case filed by the local chapter of the NAACP in 1986 “to gain proportionate representation for the black minority population in Lexington. As a result, there are six ward and two at-large seats on the city council and a mayor. Two of the six wards must have a majority (65%) Black population.
Absher noted that it’s becoming more difficult to maintain a higher percentage of the Black population in Wards 1 and 5 because of diversity throughout the City. Lexington’s population (categories are deemed by the Census) is as follows:
White Alone Population - 49%
Black Alone Population- 28%
Some Other Race Alone Population - 11%
Two or More Races Population - 8%
Asian Alone Population - 3%
American Indian and Alaska Native Alone Population - 1%
To assure the local principle is applied, Absher said the preferred method of is one of collaboration. She suggested inviting the NAACP to participate in developing the Ward map. After meetings have wrapped, the options would be presented to the council. Subsequently, Absher offered a suggestion to revisit the ward map after the 2022 election to “evaluate creation of a Hispanic majority ward in addition to maintaining the two Black majority wards in order to approach a more evenly distributed plan.” Mayor Newell Clark clarified that while the City must maintain two Black majority wards, they don’t have to be Wards 1 and 5, according to the law.
TJ Jackson shared utility billing dates will be extended by 10 days starting in November. Due dates will now occur 25 days after the bill is generated. The change is driven by the US Postal Service’s delay in delivery. Any customer who is set on auto pay will still have their payment deducted on the due date. Jackson noted that disconnection notices will have softer language.
Additionally, approximately 6,000 utility customers will be moved to a new billing cycle within the next 30-45 days. Inserts will be sent with bills to inform affected customers. Councilor Garrett Holloway questioned the move.
“This is going to certainly cause some confusion,” said Holloway. “Did you consult customers?”
Jackson responded no and explained shifting due dates wasn’t uncommon. Duke Energy was used as an example. Holloway questioned the example stating Lexington Utilities is “customer driven and locally owned. People can come into the building. That’s a benefit. It’s personal. It’s not as personal with bigger companies like Duke Energy.” Jackson assured the department would do its best to assist customers with the transition.
Natural Gas Utility Director, Andy Thomas, detailed how “energy markets are in a turmoil.” Natural gas price has doubled which will cause billing to increase. Thomas expects there to be a 17-20% increase resulting in $80-$90 more, in total per household, from November to April. The last time rates were this high was in 2014.
The gas department is on pace to add 300 new gas connections. On average, the department adds 120 a year. The demand has caused an overwhelming demand on the department. Thomas researched how much it would cost to bring in a contractor to assist. His finding was $20,000 to $25,000 a week.
“It’s beneficial to keep it in house,” Thomas told the council.
Additional news:
The Lexington Municipal election which will be held on March 8, 2022 could cause large, potential shift within the City’s governing body. Wards 1, 2, 3, 4 and the Mayor’s seat are all up for election. Greene stated that due to the timeframe, she doesn’t think it would be a productive use of the council’s time to do a retreat in January or February.
New council members elected will serve three and a half years before the next election. The newly elected mayor will serve one and a half years before the next election.
Dr. Patricia R. Smyre has been hired as the City’s new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager. She has over 30 years of experience in the field and will begin October 25.
Agenda for the meeting can be found here.
