Village Warns Against Outside Electricity Providers

Following the village's new agreement , Mayor Tim Baldermann tried clearing up any concerns about the new program during a Village Board meeting on Monday night.

Residents could see about 25 percent savings on the energy portion of their bills starting in October, though residents have until July 27 to opt out of this program and choose their own electricity provider (or stay with Excelon, the current provider, for a higher rate).

Baldermann warned against that, though, saying that residents are likely to see more savings in the village's program than with another provider. At a town hall meeting Saturday, resident Bill Walter said he had already switched to another provider, but after seeing the rates the village got in this deal (5.89 cents per kilowatt hour) he's considering switching, though will now have to pay about $150 to do so.

A letter was sent to residents by the village and Direct Energy that explains the new program, which residents will be automatically entered into unless they choose otherwise, and it includes a form to opt out.

Trustee Annette Bowden said some of her friends and neighbors contacted her asking about what they were receiving in the mail, and it turned out to be letters from other electricity providers urging them to opt in to their programs. Baldermann said he's confident residents will see bigger savings if they ignore other providers and wait for the new Direct Energy program to kick in.

More from the Meeting

Mayor's Assistant Retiring: Baldermann honored assistant Bonnie Motyka during the meeting, her last on staff before she retires Aug. 13. He presented her with flowers, and the board and staff applauded her work. The mayor said she was instrumental in organizing events such as the summer concert series and Dwyane Wade basketball tournament. "It takes a board to approve these measures and staff to make things happen, but Bonnie has done so much behind the scenes," Baldermann said. "We make a decision in five minutes and Bonnie has five months of work."

Blood Drive Nearing: The Heartland Blood Drive in New Lenox will be Saturday, July 30 from 9 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. in the community room. Donors can register on heartlandbc.org or by calling the village at 815-462-6400 and must bring a photo ID. Donors will receive a free Parrot Head T-shirt and coupons for a free quart of ice cream from Oberweis and a free deluxe butter burger from .

Weed-Cutting Explained: Especially during spring and summer months, the village gets a lot of complaints about tall weeds growing. The village operates mostly on a complaint basis, but explained during the Monday meeting that it can sometimes take nearly three weeks before seeing results. The village contacts the property owner, who has 10 days to cut weeds before the village steps in and gets its contractor to cut them, for which they have another seven days to do. Under village code, weeds may not grow higher than 8 inches.