The Cumberland Plateau Water Authority standardizing its open records request policy to create a uniform system for the public to access utility documentation.
General Manager Jeff Dyer said the organization needed to consolidate different procedures following three recent utility mergers. Dyer said the new framework establishes a single pricing model for all requests.
“The reason for the open records request change to our policy was after three mergers over the past year we had three separate open records request policies from three independent utilities,” Dyer said, “And now that we’ve merged those into the Cumberland Plateau Water Authority, we just needed one policy.”
Dyer said the document also details fees and charges that apply if a request requires an amount of work that goes beyond what is considered reasonable.
“How they submit those requests, what those requests look like, information,” Dyer said, “How we provide the information and again, the work that is involved to produce those results.”
The board also passed a resolution to notify Crossville that a new representative must be appointed to the authority. Dyer said one of the three city appointees moved outside the city limits, creating a vacancy on the seven-member board.
“So that resolution has already been passed to the city manager and to the city mayor, and it’ll be up to them to fill that position and my guess is that will come up at their next board meeting,” Dyer said.
The authority is currently reviewing bids to remodel a building that has been out of use for 10 years. Dyer said the utility has received two bids so far and is waiting for a third before selecting a contractor to create more workspace.
Regarding utility finances, Dyer said the rate of delinquent consumer accounts has decreased following the implementation of new communication technology. Dyer said the authority now uses text, email, and phone calls to notify customers when a bill is late.
“We’ve seen that number drop down from some new technology that we’ve implemented, so we have ways to communicate directly with customers via text, email, phone call, and mail,” Dyer said. “We’ve put in new strategies to allow customers to understand whenever a bill is late and how we get that paid and taken into account.”
Dyer said the authority is focused on regionalization to improve infrastructure and secure a long-term water supply for the region. A referendum on the November 3 ballot will ask Crossville voters whether the City Council should continue exploring a potential merger with the authority.
“It’s important to know that this referendum vote doesn’t solidify a merger, it just allows the City Council to continue exploring if a merger with the Cumberland Plateau Water Authority is in the best interest of the ratepayer,” Dyer said. “And if the City Council deems that it is in the best interest of the ratepayer for the future of long-term water supply, fair and equal rates, improving our infrastructure, and long-term quality water, then they would move into additional steps and resolutions with the Cumberland Plateau Water Authority to determine if it makes the most sense and a merger should be the direction to move forward.”
Residents can view meeting agendas and approved minutes on the authority website at cpwatn.com.
