Berghorst, Sonnichsen, And Miller Sworn In As New Era Begins; Council Meetings To Be Held At 6 P.M.

Berghorst, Sonnichsen, And Miller Sworn In As New Era Begins; Council Meetings To Be Held At 6 P.M.
(L-R): City Attorney-Jason White, West Ward-Larry Miller, Mayor-Jonathon Berghorst, East Ward-Rod Sonnichsen

BROKEN BOW—Mayor Cecil Burt hit the gavel for the final time to call the Broken Bow City Council Meeting to order on Tuesday, December 11. Neal Neth also made his final approval as a council member on the consent agenda before ending his time with the Broken Bow City Council. Both Burt and Neth were presented plaques for their years of service to the City of Broken Bow.

Jonathon Berghorst (Mayor), Rod Sonnichsen (East Ward), and Larry Miller (West Ward) were all sworn in by City Attorney Jason White which was followed by the roll call of all of the new council members. After being sworn in, Rod Sonnichsen was nominated and voted to serve as the council President.

Plaque Presentation To Neal Neth

One of the first approvals by the new council was the time change in when City Council meetings will be held. Numerous times were brought forward for consideration, but in the end 6 P.M. seemed to be the best time to settle on. The council approved unanimously to move City Council meetings to the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6 P.M.

Stephanie Wright was approved to be appointed as the Zoning Administrator for 90 days, after which the council will decide if this will be a good fit or if another direction will be need to be taken. Also approved was the amending of the emergency snow route to include the new fire station south of Highway 2.

A hot button issue that has been in the works for some time was the increase in the electrical rates by an approximate 5%. The Utility Board made the approval previous of the City Council meeting and those on the board in attendance did say that this was the best option not only for the city, but for the consumer as well.

Plaque Presentation to Cecil Burt

The increase will be applied to consumer charges for those in the rural and city areas. The reason why the board decided to go with consumer charges instead of kilowatt usage was to not punish those who began to go all electric many years ago through government programs, according to Electric Superintendent Jeremy Tarr.

The council approved a $4,107.50 payment to JEO Consulting Group Inc., for work that was completed on the Broken Bow Flood Risk Reduction.

Due to Christmas falling on the fourth Tuesday of December, the final City Council Meeting for 2018 will be held on December 20 at 6 P.M.

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