VIDALIA — Vidalia officials are seeking advice from a Natchitoches consultant on how to help the town lower citizens’ utility bills.

Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft said during an aldermen meeting Thursday that the town’s electric rates are tiered starting at 16 cents per kilowatt, which he hopes to lower below 8 cents per kilowatt without harming the town’s budget.

Craft said he made the decision to lower utility costs in September 2016, which he changed back in December 2017 because the town could not cover monthly expenditures as a result.

“I hated the utility bills that I came (into office) with, and I hate where they’re at now,” Craft said.

Two years ago, Craft said he began seeking ways to fix the town’s utility rate problem.

Rick Nowlin, of Nowlin and Associates consulting engineers and land surveyors of Natchitoches, was hired approximately three months ago to begin a process that will help the town spread excess costs in the utility bill across the budget.

“Vidalia does a lot of things right,” Nowlin said. “Even though you have problems, you do have things to be proud of.”

Nowlin said Vidalia has more amenities, services and facilities than many other towns of similar size and population.

In contrast, Nowlin said Vidalia’s electric rates are significantly higher than those corresponding towns, and the amount of money transferred out of the utility fund into the general fund also is significantly higher.

In every city’s utility bill, there’s a portion that covers the actual cost of the service and part that transfers into the city’s revenue to cover expenses, Nowlin said.

“If you can cut those transfers from 30 percent to 10 percent, that is a 20 percent reduction in the utility rate,” he said.

By September’s meeting, Nawlin said he could propose an ordinance that may help cut those transfers and simplify the utility rate process so Vidalia citizens know exactly what they’re paying for, which city officials may choose to adopt or revise, according to the town’s needs.

Officials raised questions about how making cuts across the budget may affect various departments. No actions were taken regarding the discussion in Thursday’s meeting.

“Now we can finally address these rates,” Craft said. “It has taken us two years to get to this point, and I’m sorry it has taken that long. I can’t help where we started at but I can help where we finish.”

In other matters at the Vidalia Board of Aldermen meeting Thursday, the board:

-Unanimously approved occupational licenses for a fitness venue and a re-sell shop or thrift store.

-Unanimously approved the appropriation $2.5 million of funds received from the sale of the Fruit of the Loom facility to pay off a loan deficit that accumulates a daily interest of $173.

-Unanimously approved the application of grants for a water treatment plant and for the town’s mowing equipment. Officials said the grants applied for would not require the town to match them with any funds.