Hampton utility ordinances approved

The Hampton City Council took action at its June 9 regular meeting on two new ordinances related to the regulation of the city’s utility services.

The first one amends the city code section on utility rate schedules to allow the inclusion of electricity as a utility for which the council sets the rates. The council already does this for water, sewer and electricity but only the other two were specifically mentioned in the code.

The second ordinance redefines the city’s response to nonpayment of utility services, which in the past was at the sole discretion of the mayor but will now include the city manager and the finance department on the administrative side with the City Council to be involved in any decisions on legal remedies for nonpayment.