Last Updated on December 6, 2023, 10:03 PM | Published: December 6, 2023
MOORE, Okla — On Monday, the Moore City Council met and discussed a variety of agenda items.
Here are the basics:
- The Moore City Council heard the results of last fiscal year’s audit.
- City Hall plans to take inventory of harmful water service lines following the new EPA guidelines.
FY 23’ financial audit
The Moore City Council heard the results of 2023’s fiscal year financial audit, and there are some key indicators of the City’s health that residents should know.
First, there were no financial misstatements. That makes the auditor’s job easier, but it also means that Moore’s financial staff is keeping track of taxpayer money effectively.
The City’s millage rate has not increased over the last few years and currently sits at 15.45 mills, just under the 16.5 mill promise City Hall made when the last few GO bonds passed.
Sales and use tax increased by 4% last year, a total of $53 million.
“It indicates the addition of new retail stores and strong sales within city limits,” the City’s auditor said.
Moore’s reserve fund has $4.5 million held for unforeseen emergencies, and Moore decreased its long-term debt by $4 million.
The city council was happy with Moore’s performance last fiscal year.
“Looks good,” Ward 1 Councilmember Adam Webb commented.
Lead/copper pipe inventory in line with EPA guidelines
Assistant City Manager Jerry Ihler spoke to the council about some of the EPA rules on lead and copper piping that need to meet EPA guidelines.
In 2021, the EPA created new rules to reduce the presence of lead and copper in American drinking water. Cities have until next October to be compliant, and Moore is beginning the 2nd stage of a phased system to become amenable to the new rules.
Phase 1 of Moore’s plan already developed the administrative groundwork for phase 2, where the city will start to take record of the materials of service lines.
This will include the City’s portion — from the water main to the meter — but also the privately owned lines from the meter to the house.
Ihler explained that the City will map out the material of all service lines, and phase 3 will use that map to determine the relative copper or lead risk of particular locations.
Phase 4 will publicize all of the service line information found in the previous phases so residents can find out if they are at risk of harm.
“If they want to pull up and look, they can determine what their risk is,” as Ihler put it.
To be clear, the city will not be required to remove any of these harmful pipes from public or private service lines. The EPA only requires that cities take an inventory and know which pipes are harmful by the October 2024 compliance deadline.
However, there are some recent insights into when these harmful pipes will be replaced.
The EPA announced a proposal last week to improve the 2021 guidelines with a 10-year service line replacement requirement. The EPA expects these improvements to be finalized by October 2024.
Moore’s next City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 18, at 6:30 PM.
Damian Powell is our government reporter for the smaller municipalities in the OKC metro such as Moore, Norman, Bethany, and Warr Acres. Damian is studying Political Science at the University of Oklahoma.
