EWEB will hold hearing
The Eugene Water and Electric Board will hold a public hearing Tuesday evening to gather feedback on a possible increase in overall electric rates by 33 percent and an average residential rate increase of 36 percent to start in November.
Tuesday’s hearing, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Training Room of EWEB’s North Building at 500 E. Fourth Ave., is the first of two to discuss the rate increases. A second hearing will be held Sept. 4, and following the hearings EWEB’s board of commissioners will decide on the rate increases.
If the commissioners vote to raise electricity rates, the utility board expects the average residential customer’s monthly bill to rise from the current $62.50 to about $86. The increase is in response to EWEB’s main energy provider, the Bonneville Power Administration, raising its wholesale prices by 46 percent Oct. 1.
Following the discussion on electric rates, the commissioners will also open the floor to comments on a proposal to raise water rates by an average of 11.4 percent, also to begin in November.

OUS makes final offer to union
The Oregon University System announced Monday that it will offer its classified employees a $20.4 million increase in salary and benefits for the 2001-2003 biennium as part of its final offer to end contract negotiations.
OUS chief negotiator Cynthia Beckwith said in a prepared statement that the OUS is “hopeful that a fair and balanced settlement can be negotiated in a timely fashion when the parties next meet under mediation.” The next session is scheduled for Aug. 22 and 27.
On Aug. 6, members of the Oregon Public Employees Union declared a state of impasse to express their frustration at what they perceived as the OUS management dragging its feet in the labor negotiations.
As part of the impasse situation, the OUS was required by law to submit its final offer within seven days of the impasse announcement.