By T.J. Hug
The Village Reporter
Before the minutes for the November meeting could be approved, the Holiday City Council heard the complaints of Ron Kyle Senior.
Kyle, who served on the initial Holiday City Village Council upon the town’s founding in 1997, took issue with his electric rates. Purchasing his own transformer, and then upgrading it to a bigger size in order to power his grain bin, the Holiday City Elder Statesman expressed concerns that he was being treated unfairly. He did, however, make it very clear that he wasn’t addressing the council to look for a refund.
“I don’t want my money back.” Kyle stated plainly. “I just want to make council aware of what’s going on.”
Worried that his family and neighbors may run into the same problem, Kyle attempted to do just that. This wasn’t the first time he’d spoken with village officials on the matter, however. The former councilor claimed he’d spoken with Village Administrator Gary Baker, and that Baker had blown him off. At one point, Kyle said, Baker allegedly tried to say the meeting never occurred.
Remaining quiet while mayor and council were searching for the words to answer Kyle’s complaint, Baker elected to wait until he was asked if he had met with him before admitting that. According to the Administrator, the offended citizen was being charged properly based on the village’s current rates. The reason this seemed unfair is that no other resident in the area had a setup similar to Kyle’s.
Not satisfied with that answer, Kyle reminded the council that he owned the infrastructure connected to the transformer as well. His thought was that, if something happens to anything in his possession, that the village would not give him service. Meanwhile, someone who theoretically could be using the same equipment that he had, but not own it themselves, would have village officials handle any problems they may have with it. Therefore, it didn’t seem fair to Kyle that he would have to pay the same rate as people who did not own their own equipment.
It was then revealed that, according to village policy, no discount is currently given to anyone who owns their own transformer. Such a discount would begin with people owning substations. Still a bit skeptical, though a bit less upset, Kyle requested a copy of the rates for his personal study. Mayor Shawn Clark offered to hand deliver them the next day, which Kyle accepted.
“I didn’t come here to raise trouble with the council.” Kyle made in initial intentions known one last time. “It’s about treating he people of Holiday City with respect.”
The council issued an apology for any unfair treatment Kyle may have suffered during the long process of attempting to have his complaint properly addressed.
The employees of the village received a raise after the third reading of an ordinance designed to do so passed with council approval. Council members will now make $3,000 a year each serving the village, though missing three consecutive council meetings will suspend monthly payment of the sum until they attend three consecutive meetings. The Mayor will earn $6,000 a year under the same conditions. The Treasurer position, easily the most demanding, will pay $20,187.86 a year, with the same stipulations as the other positions specified in the legislation.
The Council ended the session without needing to go into Executive Session.
T.J. Hug can be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com