Board Information
Annual Audit Report: The 2022 audit report was accepted as presented. The auditors issued a clean, unmodified opinion; the best opinion that an entity can earn. The auditor’s report showed that the Board could confidently rely on the financial statements as presented. They said that the records were well maintained and thanked the staff for their efforts.
Board Policy Review: The Board reviews 20% of their policies annually, and at the April meeting approved modifications to their Policy Template, Philosophy Statement, and Vehicle Purchase Policy. They also rescinded the Use of Company Vehicles Policy leaving governance at the general manager level rather than the board level.
Keizer Franchise: The Board approved authorizing general manager Tony Schacher to sign a one-year extension to our franchise agreement with the City of Keizer.
General Manager's Report
General manager Tony Schacher provided a quarterly update on the Board’s strategic plan which includes facility improvements, investigation of new rate structures, analysis of load growth, and potential revenue streams.
Salem Electric had no preventable or externally caused outages in March which is extremely rare in the industry. Our last no-outage month was November 2019. Another significant achievement was a first-place safety award from the Northwest Public Power Association for utilities in our size category.
The Northwest Requirements Utilities and the Public Power Council have drafted a response to respond to the Bonneville Power Administration’s initial proposed outline for the post-2028 provider of choice contract. The initial contract proposal is expected to be available in July and we are still on track for contract signing in late 2025.