Notice is hereby given that Perkasie Borough Council will hold a Special meeting on March 26th, 2020 at 3:00pm to discuss electric rates in light of COVID-19, and any other business that comes before Council. The meeting will be held using teleconferencing, under emergency provisions approved by the Pennsylvania state Open Records Office.
The meeting will be live-streamed on Perkasie Borough’s YouTube channel, (click this link to view the youtube channel), and on the Borough’s website at perkasieborough.org.
Members of the public wishing to comment can do so by sending an email to manager@perkasieborough.org during the meeting. Only emails received during the meeting will be added to the meeting record where appropriate. The comments will be published on the Borough’s website along with a video recording of the meeting.
Andrea Coaxum
Borough Manager
Special Meeting Agenda March 26th, 2020
PERKASIE BOROUGH TO HOLD SPECIAL MEETING TO DISCUSS OPTIONS FOR COVID-19 RELATED ELECTRIC BILL RELIEF
The Perkasie Borough Electric Company is a Public Power Utility operated by Perkasie Borough, providing our community with reliable, responsive, not-for-profit electric service. Public power utilities are directly accountable to the people they serve through local elected officials and are held to public accountability standards. Public records, open meetings, competitive bidding, public budget hearings and prevailing wage laws are some examples of the public accountability standards unique to most municipal electric suppliers.
One distinct benefit of being a Public Power Utility is that it allows local government officials a level of local control over electric resources that private, for profit Investor-owned utilities do not have, although a necessary legal process must be followed, and accountability standards clearly met.
In this context, Perkasie Borough Council has been, and will continue to discuss relief for those negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Council and Borough management are working through the necessary legal process that must be followed in order to provide financial or other relief to residents and businesses served by the Perkasie Electric Company.
“We know there are many challenges associated with this pandemic,” said James Ryder, Borough Council President. “We are actively moving forward to determine and implement solutions to help our customers through this crisis.”
James Purcell, Council Vice President and Chair of the Borough’s Public Utility Committee agreed, noting that “Perkasie Borough remains committed to serving our residential and commercial electric users, even in this most difficult of times.”
Borough Council will meet, via conference call, as allowed under emergency provisions approved by the Pennsylvania state Open Records Office, on Thursday March 26th, 2020, in order to discuss the relief options open to the Electric Company and to begin any necessary legal processes. The meeting will be live-streamed on Perkasie Borough’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/channel/UCUjEdnyLhWSxQkG5C6NBzLQ and on the Borough’s website at www.perkasieborough.org.
Members of the public wishing to comment can do so by sending an email to manager@perkasieborough.org during the meeting. Only emails received during the meeting will be added to the meeting record where appropriate. The comments will be published on the Borough’s website along with a video recording of the meeting.
In the meantime, electric billing will proceed as normal and bills will be sent out at the end of this week.
Residents and business owners that cannot pay their bill because they have been impacted by COVID-19
should immediately contact the Perkasie Borough Electric Department at 215-257-5065 or by email at admin@perkasieborough.org