Recently we ran a story, posted below, about two Little Rock who men were reportedly shoplifting fishing gear from Walmart, and then arrested near Lake Monticello. That story has recently taken a very unusual twist.
So far, there, crews for Siemens have installed 10,000 of 65,000 new digital meters.
In June 2013, the Jackson City Council entered into a energy performance contract with German engineering giant Siemens to install new water meters, upgrade the city’s billing software, replace equipment at the two water plants, and repair water and sewer lines. The $90 million price tag for the project was covered through cost savings and new revenues.
Some council members see problems achieving those savings, such as there was no money added to the contract for a project manager from the city, which could cost $2 million to $9 million.”These are questions that should have been asked on the front end,” said one official.
The Siemens deal has made council members and citizens wary since May 2012, when their mayor presented a deal for council approval. Since then, turnover at Siemens, as well as with the city, has made it difficult to get information.
“This is a massive contract. We need to come up with a practical solution while we only have 10,000 (meters) installed,” said another local official.
Read the complete story at the Jackson Free Press.
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