Utility Projects highlight Proposed Seneca Budget

Utility projects highlight the proposed fiscal year 2014 budget in the City of Seneca.  The proposed budget of $45 million includes two major utility projects that call for upgrades to be made at the city’s water treatment plant and electric substation.  Seneca Mayor Dan Alexander says this is an investment in the city’s future.  “When I know I am putting it in water, electric and sewer, I know that it is going to be needed in the future because if you don’t have those things you are not going to grow.” For Seneca to take on these projects, the Mayor anticipates a 25-year bond issue.  Mayor Alexander feels these projects are necessary and credits the city’s utilities, which he says are powering the city in more ways than one. “We are very fortunate that we own our electrical system here in Seneca.  That we buy wholesale power and that we are able to sell it because that helps us generate money.” Seneca is one of a few cities in the state to be a utility city, concludes Mayor Alexander.  “There are not but 21 cities in the state that actually sell electricity, so Seneca is very fortunate to be a utility city.  It has opened lots of doors and it has made us what we are today.” Second and final reading of the proposed 2014 budget for the City of Seneca, along with a public hearing, takes place on June 27.