This story was reported by Lisa Mills.

Hazen Mayor David Hardke says the city needs to raise natural gas rates to keep up with increasing costs.

At the City Council meeting Thursday, Sept. 17, Hardke said he wants to look at the numbers further but asked council members to begin considering a rate increase.

“The current rates just aren’t going to continue to cover our cost for gas, utilities, insurance and supplies because all those costs keep going up,” Hardke said.

He said that even during the summer months, when less gas is used, current rates do not cover the city’s costs.

Hardke recommended increasing rates by 50 cents for the first 500 cubic feet of gas used and 75 cents after that, with annual adjustments to the rates.

The mayor said he wants the council to make a decision at next month’s meeting.

Retired city employee health coverage

The council also discussed whether retired city employees should be allowed to continue receiving health insurance coverage through the city if they pay the premiums.

Hardke said he had reviewed state law and policies used by other cities. He said most cities appear to require either 20 years of service and a minimum age of 60 or 25 years of service and a minimum age of 55.

Councilman Bob Juola asked how allowing retirees to continue coverage could affect the city’s insurance premiums.

Hardke acknowledged that premiums could be affected if a retired employee had a large number of claims. However, he said an employee who continued working could potentially file just as many claims, so he did not consider that a significant concern.

The council approved a motion allowing retirees who are at least 60 years old and have 20 years of service to continue coverage by paying the insurance premium.

Other business

Public Works Director Chad Swaim reported that crews were working on three water leaks and had made repairs to address issues at the water plant.

He said crews also completed cleanup and routine maintenance at the wastewater plant. Spraying and mowing, including work at the baseball field, were continuing.

Hardke also read a report from Fire Chief Seth Skarda. The department had six first responder calls, three grass fires along Interstate 40 and a truck fire on the interstate.

As drought conditions continue worsening and there have been several wildfires over the last week, Skarda reminded residents that Prairie County remains under a burn ban.