Benson’s Electric Rates May Be Changing

By Emily Weaver
Daily Record of Dunn

Benson commissioners agreed to take a thorough look at its costs of providing electricity to the town after hearing its electric department had about half the money it needed to cover its bills last fiscal year.

“The electric fund had an operating loss for the year,” Jay Sharpe, the town auditor, told the board at its meeting Sept. 18.

And fiscal year 2024 wasn’t a fluke.

Operating expenses have exceeded revenues in that department for at least the last three fiscal years, he said, pointing to a bar graph. Another graph showed deep dips of red to illustrate the department’s habit of operating with negative cash flows during those same years.

The Town of Benson Electric Department “only had $300 in petty cash” at the end of fiscal year 2024, and it had to borrow money from the town’s general fund to pay for its operations, Sharpe added.

His Raleigh-based accounting firm, Sharpe Patel CPA, recommends towns try to have two to three times the money it needs in the bank to cover all of its bills. The electric department had half of what it needed.

ElectriCities of North Carolina offered to complete the study at a cost of $28,900, only charging the town $23,900 after awarding Benson a $5,000 grant for the study.

“A cost of service study looks at the total costs an electric distribution system has for the provision of electrical service,” Interim Town Manager Steve Harrell told the board at its meeting Sept. 18. “This includes functional costs for local lines, poles, and transformers to deliver power to end-users and the costs for billing, meter reading and customer support.”

In other action, commissioners voted unanimously to end its $400 monthly health care stipend for any employees, outside of the 11 who already receive it, not wanting coverage from the state health plan. The 11, who receive it, will be able to continue to receive it as they choose during their employment.

The board also agreed to table any decisions on a new cellphone policy and future employment benefits until its next work session. A general consensus among board members revealed a desire to grandfather in any current benefits a town employee now receives. The board’s next work session is set for Oct. 14.

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