HERMANN – Already chafing this year from a sharp increase in electricity rates, Hermann residents are facing the prospect of an even higher utility bill with the start of the next fiscal year in July.

How much higher those bills will be could be decided Monday night when the Board of Aldermen holds a workshop session to hear from city government officials on what will be needed to make up for the increase in fuel prices the city had to pay in January when bitterly cold temperatures blanketed much of the nation.

The workshop session is set for 7 p.m. when City Administrator Patricia Heaney and Public Works Director Jesse Geltz will outline the increased costs the city faced during that period of extreme cold temperatures and how much they think residents’ bills will need to be increased.

Hermann residents already are paying a rate that was boosted 10 percent at the start of this fiscal year last July 1, the first of a three-part increase in electricity rates to make up for the longtime deficit in the Electricity Division that had grown to more than $200,000. To get to the 21-percent increase that was needed to wipe out that deficit, the aldermen approved a plan that raises rates 10 percent this year, 7.5 percent next fiscal year and 3.5 percent in Fiscal Year 2027-28.

Because of scheduled vacations by city officials in the coming weeks, the available dates for a workshop was either Tuesday, March 31, or later in April. But having the workshop in late April would complicate Heaney’s effort to present a preliminary operating budget to the aldermen on May 1.

The Board of Aldermen typically takes the month of May to consider the proposed budget with approval of a new operating budget taking place in June.

Meanwhile, in other matters at Monday night’s second regular session of the month, the aldermen heard that the Planning & Zoning Commission next Monday night, March 30, will hear a proposal by businessman Brian Jett for an ordinance to allow guesthouses within the city’s Downtown Historic District, which includes residences as well as businesses. The proposal was made by Jett two weeks ago to the aldermen, who referred it to the P&Z panel. The planning commissioners hear testimony on such proposals and make a recommendation to the Board of Aldermen.

Based on initial reactions of the aldermen, it appears the city board is split as some expressed support while others were more skeptical, citing the moratorium on guesthouses in residential areas that was adopted more than a year ago. That moratorium, which initially was applied on a temporary basis and later made permanent, was aimed at stemming population loss in the county seat — a population loss over the past 10 to 12 years that figured into the decreased enrollment in the Gasconade County R-1 School District and the corresponding decrease in state dollars coming to the district during that time.

The P&Z Commission meets at 7 p.m. in the aldermanic chambers.

The Board of Aldermen also Monday night approved the hiring of Matthew Pigg as a natural gas/water/wastewater technician in the Public Works Department; Dayton Griesheimer and Carter Leavy as assistant managers of the Municipal Swimming Pool; and Kruz Eldringhoff as a Youth League basketball referee.

Also approved was a renewal of the city’s employee health and dental insurance plans and the confirmation of the reappointment of Rebecca Burke to the city’s Tourism Commission.

Approval was granted for renewal of Conditional Use Permits for owner-unoccupied guesthouses sought by Steve Vollmer for three properties in the 200 block of West 4th Street and Jim Holland for a property in the 400 block of Washington Street.

A Caterer’s Permit was approved for Dierberg Educational Foundation during Maifest on Schiller Street May 16.

Several Special Event Applications were approved: Hermann Area District Hospital Auxiliary for a Spring Vendor Fair at the Amphitheater on May 2; Hermann Area Crusade Against Cancer for Running for a Cause 5K run and walk on May 9; Go! St. Louis KT82 Trail Relay at the Amphitheater June 6; 18th and Vine Lives for the Wine & Jazz Festival at the Amphitheater Sept. 17; Hogshead Cigars & Fine Tobaccos for Smokefest 2026 at the Amphitheater Sept. 19; Jenna Schaefer and Jenna Thompson for the Hermann Harvest Festival at the Amphitheater on Sept. 26; Big BAM, LLC, for the Big Bam on the Katy with group tent camping at Riverfront Park June 11 and 12; and Big BAM, LLC, for Big Bam on the Katy with group tent camping at Riverfront Park on Oct. 15 and 16.