KAYSVILLE -- It's been five years since Kaysville's electrical power rates have been increased.

That distinction will come to a close, May 1, when residential rates are hiked an average of 7 percent. Commercial customers will also see a "slight increase," says Dean Storey, Kaysville City finance director. The hike comes after months of study and determination that it's the only way to stem financial losses, he said.

"The cost has skyrocketed for power resources," Storey said. "In the last fiscal year, we paid over $1 million more than the previous year. "Naturally, we need to pass that cost along. We can't continue to run" that way, he said. "Last year we lost money on an operating basis.

"There's still some reserve there, but when you take a hit of a million dollars a year, that eats it away in a hurry," Storey said.

"After we completed an audit, we had a chance to really review our numbers, and felt we needed to be pro-active, make a change as soon as we could," the veteran financial chief said.

"Residential customers are creating most of the impact, because of the new, bigger homes, bigger loads required," he said. As was demonstrated in graphing of power usage, the city's highest electrical use tends to be in the hot summer months, due to high air conditioner use.

In addition to the 7 percent residential hike, an "inclining block rate" schedule will be implemented for customers who exceed 1,000 kilowatts usage per month. The average usage is 850-900 kilowatts a month.

For "low end" customers, the rate hike will mean about $30 a year more, while the average customer will pay about $115 additional per year.

The average Kaysville customer will pay about $1,215 a year compared to $1,160 a year for a Rocky Mountain Power customer, including the private utility's recent rate increase, Storey said. "We hope customers become a little more conservation minded," he said. "It really can make a difference, just by adjusting the thermostat by 1-2 degrees can make a 2-3 percent decrease" in the power bill.

Suggestions on how customers can reduce their power bills will be sent in the next city newsletter.

"We've always touted the benefits of our own power system as far as street lighting billed within that rate, etc.," Storey said. "I think it's a good thing. In the past, we've been able to make transfers" of power revenues to support various programs in the city, from street and park improvements.

"It's been about three years since we've made any transfers, just because of the market we've been in. Even with this increase we probably won't be able to," he said. "If you spread it over five years (time since last rate hike), that is still not even keeping costs up with inflation," Storey said.



Local man charged over child porn

FARMINGTON --A Bountiful man will be arraigned Tuesday on 10 counts of possessing child pornography.

Scott Dale Kerber, 46, was arrested and charged with the second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor after officers with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force obtained a search warrant for Kerber's home, where they seized computers.

The 10 charges reflect the task force finding a number of pornographic images of children in his possession, according to Chris Ahearn, commander of the task force.

Each second-degree felony count can carry anywhere from a one-to 15-year jail sentence.

He is being held on $100,000 bail in the Davis County Jail.

mwilliams@davisclipper.com