L’ANSE – The village is making a long-term investment in new NorthStar billing software for its municipal electric utility. The software’s initial $61,000 price tag will be offset by a $25,000 grant from WPPI Energy, the co-op that provides the village’s energy, but it will also come with a hefty monthly service fee.

“Nine hundred fifty dollars a month seems like a lot,” Trustee Leann Davis noted at the Dec. 28 board meeting, before eventually voting with the unanimous board to go ahead with the purchase.

Village Manager Bob LaFave explained the village’s current unwieldy software comes with a $750 maintenance charge, plus extra charges when personalized service is necessary. With the new vendor, he said, the $950 would include all service, though he expected less help would be needed.

All funds for the new system would come from electric utility revenues, he added.

LaFave said the current system is obsolete and requires specialized programming skills. The village had depended on Marquette consultant Terry Horton to keep it running. When Horton passed away unexpectedly in May, “We had to look for a long-term solution,” LaFave said.

LaFave said the village considered other software packages but was impressed to see that 35 other WPPI member communities had gone with NorthStar.

“Considering we have to do something, it’s basically a no-brainer,” he said. “This particular program has been on the market for a while and has a good track record with other member communities we’ve spoken to.”

Trustee Kerri Sikkila said the new software will allow meter readers to eventually log electric usage remotely instead of physically trudging to each meter to read it.

LaFave agreed the village could create savings in meter-reading labor in the long term, but he said the most immediate benefits would come in the village office.

“There’s a whole suite of reports and stuff, and services down the road for customers and the women doing the billing that will be useful,” LaFave said. “It will help with generating utility bills and answering questions for customers.”