Washington’s City Council is scheduled to receive a presentation on a review of Washington Electric Utilities’ operations.

The review, conducted by Hometown Connections, was requested by Keith Hardt, WEU’s director. Hometown Connections is a subsidiary of the American Public Power Association. Hardt asked for the review to look at WEU’s operations and identify areas that are working well and areas that need improvement.

“The review looked at all aspects of the utilities operations, including those listed below,” reads the report’s executive summary. “Each is discussed in its own section, identifying strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, each section is assigned a rating, based on four stars, also shown below.”

The report notes that in many public-power utilities that work closely with general city operations, “the line between enterprise fund and general fund can become blurred, and misunderstandings by staff and governing board members may exist regarding the distinctions between these two funds.”

“In extreme cases, the utility may find itself hamstrung as it attempts to run its enterprise like a business, maintaining the integrity and reliability of the asset while continuing to provide value to the community,” reads the summary. “This does not appear to be the case (in) Washington, although there does appear to be a need for greater alignment of organizational priorities. Nonetheless, Washington’s enterprise fund and general fund operations function effectively, working well most of the time with each other to deliver a high level of service to its electric customers.”

For years, the city has transferred money from the electric fund to its general fund, which some WEU customers, especially those who are not city residents, don’t support.

The current council continues working to reduce the amount of that annual transfer.

Mayor Pro Tempore Bobby Roberson believes a recent audit report shows the city is taking its financial situation —  specifically addressing its electric department’s finances — in the direction that city taxpayers want it to go.

“I think we are making strides toward eliminating the transfer of funds from the electric fund to other funds in the budget,” Roberson said when that report was presented in December 2010.

In previous fiscal years, the annual transfer from the electric fund to the general fund was a little more than $1 million. The electric-fund transfer in this fiscal year’s budget amounted to around $973,000, about $200,000 less than transfers from the fund in the previous fiscal year.

Council members have said they want to eventually wean the general fund from transfers from the electric fund.

The other agenda item calls for the council to discuss the possibility of the city participating in the Washington Daily News’ VIP advertising plan.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 201 E. Second St.