lansing board of water and light

Lansing city council discussing utility fee to pay for fire hydrants and city streetlights

Steve Carmody — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:22:00 +0000

Lansing city leaders are weighing a couple of options that could increase the bills of city utility customers.

The mayor is proposing either a flat fee or a surcharge based on a customer’s water or electricity use to pay for Lansing’s fire hydrants and streetlights. The money raised would help the city fill a projected $5 million hole in next year’s city budget.

In the past, the city paid the utility directly from its general fund for maintaining Lansing’s streetlights and fire hydrants.

Lansing's mayor wants city utility customers to help close the city's projected budget deficit

Steve Carmody — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 02:59:22 +0000

Lansing’s mayor is proposing its municipal utility customers pay more to balance the city’s budget next year.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero outlined his budget plan to the city council last night. Bernero says the city’s budget problems are not quite as serious as expected. The mayor says better than expected property tax collections and lower than expected city employee health care costs had cut the project budget deficit in half.

Still, Bernero says the city needs to close about a five million dollar budget gap.

Looking for other ideas to solve Lansing's budget woes

Steve Carmody — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:48:55 +0000

A special committee set up to study the city of Lansing’s financial problems heard from the public last night.

The committee’s preliminary report is due March 1st. The panel is looking at changes to Lansing’s retirement plan and other possible spending cuts.

Several dozen people showed up last night to share their ideas. UAW vice president Stan Shuck doesn’t want any more cuts to city employees and city services. He wants to see ideas for raising revenue.

Lansing's mayor says privatizing the city's power company is not going to happen on his watch

Steve Carmody — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 03:04:39 +0000

Lansing mayor Virg Bernero’s State of the City address celebrated recent positive economic news for the capitol city.

But perhaps the biggest applause line in the speech last night involved the future of Lansing’s city-owned utility.

Last year, Mayor Virg Bernero appointed a committee to study ways of solving Lansing’s chronic budget problems. One option the panel has been looking at is privatizing the Lansing Board of Water and Light.

But Bernero says he wants that idea off the table.

Lansing city council approves fiscal year end deficit elimination plan

Steve Carmody — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 03:40:59 +0000

Last night, a reluctant Lansing City Council approved a plan to eliminate a nearly two million dollar budget deficit. Lansing's fiscal year concludes at the end of this week.

Lansing mayor uses his veto pen, city council president "disappointed"

Steve Carmody — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:16:40 +0000

Mayor Virg Bernero today vetoed a portion of the city budget plan approved by the Lansing City Council Monday night.

The city council now has two weeks to see if it can override the veto.

Lansing City Council votes on budget plan tonight

Steve Carmody — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:01:01 +0000

The Lansing City Council will vote this evening on the city’s budget plan for next year.

The vote may set up a veto fight with Lansing’s mayor.

Back in March, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero told the city council how he thought the city should try to deal with a projected $4.7 million budget deficit next year.

Tonight, it’s the city council’s turn.

Lansing BW&L gets key state permit for new power plant

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:14:23 +0000

The Lansing Board of Water & Light has gotten a key state permit clearing the way for construction of a new $182 million cogeneration power plant.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment granted the permit.

A Lansing BW&L spokesman says the utility will now move to issuing bonds to pay for the project. The utility hopes to begin operating the new power plant in 2013.

The power plant will rely on natural gas to produce electricity. Lansing utility officials say it will eventually replace an aging coal-fired power plant.