City staff presented an ordinance to create a five-member Gas & Water board that would shift governance of the municipal utility from direct city-council oversight to a customer-representative board while keeping the utility publicly owned.

Mr. Riggins, speaking for Gas & Water staff, said the board would increase customer representation in decisions about service, capital projects and long-term planning and reduce short-term political influence on utility decisions. He described a five-member board consisting of city residents and customers, one city-council member, and the mayor as an ex officio non-voting member; members would serve five-year terms and meetings would be public.

Council members asked detailed procedural and governance questions. Councilman Chiquina asked whether board formation would affect pending or future rate increases; Mr. Riggins said the legislation itself does not change current rates but that the board would vote on future rate requests, and that the utility already operates under state law, auditing and oversight. Councilman Lovato pressed to align the residency language with Tennessee Code Annotated; staff agreed to bring an amendment to make the ordinance explicit that board members must be city residents and to require primary-residence status to avoid appointing owners who live elsewhere.

Other topics during the discussion included whether a future stormwater utility could be added under the board’s authority (staff said the ordinance would permit that later, subject to separate council action), payment for board members (staff noted state law caps the allowance at roughly $125 per month), pilot payments to the city and bond-rating implications. Mr. Riggins emphasized continued public reporting, annual third-party audits and monthly committee reporting to council as transparency mechanisms.

Several council members urged careful safeguards. Councilman Lovato asked for ordinance language consistent with TCA residency rules; Mr. Riggins acknowledged that TCA requires board members to have lived in the city for at least one year prior to appointment and agreed to adjust the draft. Multiple members stressed the need for diverse representation on the board and routine reporting to the finance committee.

The ordinance is before council at first reading; committee votes recommending approval were reported. The transcript does not record a final vote or the exact amendment language that will be proposed at the next reading.