Agenda Highlights 4/9/24

The Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting scheduled for 4-9-24 will begin with a discussion regarding possible options for water rate structure changes. At the 12-12-23 meeting, the results of a water rate study were presented and the Board was presented with a couple of options that included rate increases, one plan that included a sales tax increase, and one that did not. The Board was not enthusiastic about either proposed plan and based on the discussion at that meeting and the input and feedback from the Board, Burns & McDonnell was instructed to devise more alternative plans. At the 4-9-24 meeting, the Board will hear and discuss those new potential water funding scenarios and rate structure changes.

At the 1-23-24 meeting, the Board discussed the potential of contracting with Water Company of America to review the water and sewer utilities billing system to try to find ways to recapture lost revenue including finding unbilled and misbilled utility services. Questions were raised at that meeting regarding security risks associated with sharing the information with the outside company, including cybersecurity risks. IT Director Gentry will be answering the Board’s questions about those potential cybersecurity related issues.