JOSHUA SHIMKUS
Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa
(TNS)
A plan to purchase and install solar panels on the Silvis Municipal Building and 10th Street Fire Station failed on July 16, after the city council did not achieve the necessary votes to override Mayor Matt Carter’s veto.
Prior to the mayor’s veto on July 2, the city council voted 6-0 in favor of the proposal, according to council minutes. Two council members were absent from the June 18 meeting when the vote was taken.
At the July 16 meeting, the council voted five to three in support of the plan. But the Silvis city ordinances require a two thirds majority to override a veto, which the council narrowly missed. Aldermen Bob Cervantes, Doug Greer and Dave Rice were the three “no” votes at the July 16 meeting. Greer and Rice had previously voted yes at the June meeting; Cervantes had been absent.
Carter said he vetoed the proposal because the solar panels were not budgeted for, and if this was a priority for the city, they could come back to it in the future.
“I would suggest to the council to plan on doing this in eight months,” Carter said at the July 16 meeting.
But supporters on the council said that tax credits and benefits available now will not be the same in eight months’ time.
“The problem with waiting on this project is we’re losing money.” Alderman Tony Trulson said at the July 16 meeting. “I know to some people this may seem to be a ‘want’, but in this day and age, this is getting more and more to a ‘need’.”
Citing information from Blue Sky Solar, the planned solar partner, Trulson said that the project would cost $325,674. Nearly half of that money would have come back to the city within the same fiscal year because of tax credits and payments for carbon offsets.
With energy savings and rebates, the project was projected to break even after about six or seven years, Trulson said.
Following the vote, Trulson apologized to the citizens of Silvis, calling it a missed opportunity. Other council members that supported the project voiced harsher criticism.
“The proposal would have reduced the cost to run the city. That is the definition of fiscal responsibility,” Alderman Joshua Dyer said at the July 16 meeting. “I think the citizens need to go shopping for new aldermen and a new mayor.”
___
(c)2024 Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa
Visit Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa at http://www.qctimes.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
