There will be a public hearing at the Provo Municipal Council meeting on September 20 on how to make the bond payments related to the city's fiber optic network, also known as iProvo. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Municipal Council Chambers of the Provo City Center, 351 W. Center St.
The annual bond payment for the network is $3.2 million. For over a year, Provo Mayor John Curtis has discussed in public the need for a more reliable, transparent way to pay that debt, and the possibility of a monthly charge to utility customers. The administration has developed options that it will present to the council, which controls utility rates.
The options include a fixed charge, charging a percentage of each customer's utility bill, and combinations of the two. Under each of the options, the average residential customer would pay up to $7.65 per month. The charge would begin November 1 and would continue until the bond is paid in 15 years.
Since selling the network three years ago, the city has applied the payments from the sale to the bond payments, but payments from the sale ended earlier this year, and surety funds intended to secure the payments will soon be exhausted.
The city is continuing to evaluate its options regarding the future of the network, including reselling it, managing it again, and "going dark," and will seek public input on that later this year. The new utility charge would be required to cover the bond payments under any of those options.
"We have what many cities wish they had--a fully built, city-wide fiber-to-the-home network," stated Curtis. "Many of us were not involved in the decision to build it, but we benefit either directly or indirectly, and more importantly, we have an obligation to pay for it."
Although the meeting starts at 7 p.m., the public hearing is later on the agenda. After a presentation by the administration, the public will be invited to comment.
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