On March 25, 2013, the Morganton City Council enacted a new schedule of deposits for all customers applying for utilities. The former maximum deposit was $130.00. It has now drastically increased as follows: • “Great” credit – deposit of $190.00 + $10.00 application fee • “Good” credit – deposit of $290.00 + $10.00 application fee • “Poor” credit – deposit of $400.00 + $10.00 application fee The citizens were not notified in advance about these extreme changes and why there would be a need for such changes. It is our concern that most local residents cannot afford such costly fees. To serve the best interest of our local residents, we propose that the deposit schedule be set as follows instead: • “Great” credit – deposit of $100.00 • “Good” credit – deposit of $150.00 • “Poor” or no credit history – deposit of $260.00 Additionally, we propose that the application fee be eliminated as other utility companies do not assess such fees. The undersigned parties hereby oppose the City of Morganton’s new utility deposit rate schedule as we feel that the newly enacted amounts are excessive and are without merit.