One councilman tells us the ordinance will pass, mainly because the council doesn't feel like fighting a few paranoid people.
The Lafayette City-Parish Council will consider for final adoption Tuesday an ordinance that would allow residents to pay a monthly fee to continue having meter readers visit their homes each month to read and record their electrical and water usage. Lafayette Utilities System is currently installing so-called "smart meters" on homes in the city that allow the publicly owned utility company to remotely read the meters.
Some residents, however, have cited an array of concerns including possible health effects and government snooping in opposing the meters. The opt-out ordinance was first introduced in December but failed to advance. It was reintroduced a few weeks ago and passed as an introductory ordinance. Councilman Don Bertrand, R-District 7, told this newspaper recently he expects the ordinance to pass Tuesday night, mainly because council members don't view the issue as worthy of getting into a fight with local Tea Party members over.