TRUMBULL COUNTY Village to fix up electric system

Monthly bills will not increase, officials noted.
NEWTON FALLS -- City council has entered into an agreement to upgrade the city's electrical system.
On Monday, council passed an emergency ordinance approving American Municipal Power of Ohio to provide financing for the project.
AMP-Ohio is a nonprofit association based in Columbus that represents 80 member communities in Ohio, three in Pennsylvania, two in West Virginia and one in Michigan. Newton Falls is one of the member cities, as are Niles, Columbiana, Hubbard and Grove City and New Wilmington, Pa.
The organization supplies wholesale power and provides technical and other services to its members.
The loan agreement ordinance was passed as an emergency measure to lock in current interest rates, which are expected to climb in the near future, city officials said. The city will be charged only a 1.25- to 1.5-percent interest rate on the $3.35 million it will borrow from AMP-Ohio.
The ordinance is the first step of the six-step upgrade to the city's electrical system.
Improvements
Upgrades include lighting and pole replacement, voltage conversion, substation additions, distribution system upgrades and the installation of a backup system generator.
Residents, however, won't see any type of increase on their monthly bill. Officials noted that the price per kilowatt hour will not increase.
City Manager David Watson said the ordinance and the city's charter allow Newton Falls to borrow the needed money from AMP-Ohio, and then place the money in the city's investment portfolio.
"That way, we can get a much greater return than what we paid for it," Watson said.
Using those returns, as well as the fee currently charged to residents on their electrical bills for capital improvement projects, will allow the city to repay the debt without increasing rates.
In other news, city council also announced that U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, will participate in a public town meeting at 10 a.m. July 24 at St. Michael Church social hall.