NYM School receives nearly $100,000 back electricity bill
News | Published on December 3, 2024 at 5:20pm GMT+0000 | Author: Tucker Henderson
0By Chad Koenen
Publisher
A faulty electric meter at New York Mills School has resulted in an approximately $91,000 bill from Otter Tail Power Company.
During its regularly scheduled meeting last week, the NY Mills School Board heard from Christopher Waltz of Otter Tail Power Company about a bill the school district received for back due power owed to the company. The bill represented 12 months of electricity that was utilized at the school for one of its meters that did not properly register the electricity used.
Following the meeting, NY Mills School Superintendent Adam Johnson said the faulty meter was actually caught by the school district who informed Otter Tail Power Company about the equipment. He said when the school district installed its new HVAC and dehumidification system in 2020, the school district’s electricity bill went down approximately $2,000 a month.
Unbeknown to the school district, and Otter Tail Power, one of the meters that was installed at the school was faulty. The meter failed a number of internal controls set up by Otter Tail Power Company to protect against faulty meters, but it was not discovered until earlier this year.
Unfortunately, Johnson said when the school district turned on its solar panels as part of a new solar project at the school, representatives from the NY Mills School District discovered the faulty meter and informed representatives from Otter Tail Power about the sudden increase in electricity.
Johnson said Otter Tail Power has the right to back bill for up to 12 months for such a situation, which it informed the school district it is planning to do. The end result was an approximate $91,000 bill that the NY Mills School District will now need to cover, in addition to the increase in electricity that resulted from the faulty electric meter being replaced.
“A $91,000 bill for back pay is kind of a hard pill for a school to swallow,” said Johnson.
Under the current plan developed between the school and Otter Tail Power Company, the NY Mills School District will make payments on the back due electric bill beginning in July.
In other news
• Approved a final 2025 tax levy that shows an increase of 16.17 percent, which includes a 26.39 percent increase in the General Fund, 6.54 percent increase in the Community Service fund and a 9.46 percent increase in the Debt Service fund. The local tax levy for 2025 will be $1,877,743.87. The increase in the tax levy will result in a $160 increase per year for a house valued at $100,000.
• Approved the following appointments: Brandy Kinsbury as a long-term substitute, Kristina Underdahl as paraprofessional, Kaitlyn Bottem as a paraprofessional, Audrey Irons as a paraprofessional, Megan Schmitz as an elementary secretary and Angela Wright as interventionist/paraprofessional.
• Approved the following resignations: Matt Radniecki as activities director and head football coach, Terry Repensky as cleaner, Tyann Robertson as a teacher and Jeff Rimpila as a bus driver.