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items in favor of OUC, while the other set would provide lesser cost
<br /> savings to the City but would keep the PPA in place only through 2023 .
<br /> The City is in the process of evaluating the various terms, with its
<br /> goal being to select the option that provides maximum value to all of
<br /> its electric customers.
<br /> Beyond those efforts, the City has also entered into a contract
<br /> with Public Resources Management Group, Inc. , to perform a
<br /> comprehensive "Rate Study, " which will include, among other products,
<br /> an evaluation of the feasibility of financing transmission and
<br /> distribution capital expenditures with debt, rather than with current
<br /> funds, as potential means of lowering rates. The Rate Study is
<br /> expected to be complete by April 2015. Additionally, the City issued
<br /> a Request for Proposals and received several responses for a study of
<br /> ways to improve the electric utility's efficiency, including ways to
<br /> lower costs. The City expects to execute the contract for that study
<br /> in January 2015, and expects that study to be complete by July 2015 .
<br /> The City's Referendum Initiative. Following enactment of the
<br /> original version of Section 366 . 04 (7) , Florida Statutes, the City
<br /> considered whether that Act applies to the City at a City Council
<br /> meeting in August 2008 . The City concluded that, by the express terms
<br /> of the Act, the City was not subject to the Act for two reasons: (1)
<br /> the number of "named retail electric customer[s] " as of September 30,
<br /> 2007, who were to be the electors franchised to vote in the referendum
<br /> prescribed by the Act, was 27, 854, which is less than the lower bound
<br /> of the range (30, 000 to 35, 000 customers) set forth in the Act; and
<br /> (2) the City served customers outside its home county (in St. Lucie
<br /> County, whereas the City's home county is Indian River County) on
<br /> September 30, 2007, and accordingly, by this criterion, the City was
<br /> also outside the applicability criteria in the Act.
<br /> Notwithstanding its determination that the Act does not apply to
<br /> the City, the City has stated publicly, at the previous meetings in
<br /> this dispute resolution process, that the City will work toward
<br /> holding the referendum sought by the Town (and perhaps by the County) .
<br /> To that end, the City contacted the Indian River County Supervisor of
<br /> Elections, The Honorable Leslie Rossway Swan, to inquire as to her
<br /> ability to conduct the referendum; she replied that she cannot,
<br /> because the electors are "named retail electric customer[s] " as
<br /> opposed to registered voters, and also because her office can only
<br /> conduct elections involving entire districts, e.g. , County Commission
<br /> districts, Florida House Districts, and the like. Further, the City
<br /> engaged Mr. Ronald A. Labasky, the General Counsel for the Florida
<br /> State Association of Supervisors of Elections, to advise the City as
<br /> to how the sought-after referendum may be conducted. On December 2,
<br /> 2014, the Vero Beach City Council adopted its Resolution No. 2014-41
<br /> (Attachment C hereto) , by which it authorized City Staff to work ,
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