Utility rates for customers of the city of Vidalia will decrease, Mayor Hyram Copeland said Tuesday night.

“We have some good news tonight,” Copeland said at the alderman meeting. “We’re elated at being able to do this.”

After careful re-budgeting, the city plans to lower utility rates by about 12 percent for the average residential customer and 10.68 percent for the average business customer, he said.

This decrease will lower utility costs to be comparable to 2006 rates.

“We looked at some areas where adjustments could be made, and we’re going to have to tighten our belts in some places,” Copeland said.

A lot of people have complained about utility rates, saying that Vidalia is the municipality with the highest utility bills, he said.

A 40 percent increase in production costs forced the city to raise its rates in the past, Copeland said.

“This should put us in the middle, as far as municipal utilities are concerned,” he said.

For citizens paying a $200 utility bill, this decrease will lower the bill by about $23. For the average commercial customer, the rate decrease should lower bills by about $1,000, Copeland said.

The decrease goes into effect May 1. Customers can expect to see it reflected in their June billing statement.

The city is also in negotiation with a utilities company that, if contracted by the city, will help decrease rates to comparable to what they were in 2004, Copeland said.

The aldermen also voted to approve opening bids for building the second phase of the Vidalia convention complex.

The 14,000 square foot addition to the complex will be built at a cost of $2.8 million, and will be paid for by grant money.

“The day we open the doors, everything will be paid for,” Copeland said. “There will be no debt whatsoever.”

The addition will incorporate a Red Cross evacuation shelter, and will have a kitchen, showers and air conditioning, Copeland said.

The board also had a public hearing to address the adoption of new state building codes, but there was no public comment.

“Basically, this means that if you build a building, it has to be approved by a state inspector,” Copeland said. “The state already passed this, and this is just us enacting it.”

The ordinance was passed unanimously.