By a 3-2 vote this week the City Council moved to reorganize the Utility Commission, expanding the citizen board’s membership from 5 to 7, with one member each to be appointed by the Indian River Shores Town Council and the Indian River County Commission.  The remaining five positions will be filled by the City Council, with each member having one appointment.

Previously, the Utility Commission, with five members and two alternates, has been named by a simple majority of the Council.  In January 2011, with support from Tracy Carroll and Craig Fletcher, then Mayor Pilar Turner orchestrated a wholesale shakeup of the commission by proposing a slate of members who would be more supportive of the sale of Vero Electric.

Opponents of the new approach, including utility activist Glenn Heran and Charlie Wilson, argued that it is important for the number of out-of-city members to reflect the customer base of Vero Electric.  Twenty-two thousand of the city’s 34,000 electric customers are located outside the city limits.

Vice Mayor Jay Kramer countered by insisting that it is equally important for each member of the Council to be represented on the Utility Commission, as is the case with the Finance Commission.

Others supporting Kramer’s proposal have pointed out that with the eventual sale of the electric system a far greater percentage of utility customers will be city residents and businesses.  Some seventy percent of the city water and sewer customers are in the city, as are all of the customers of the solid waste department.