The New Iberia City Council unanimously voted to oppose all utility rate increases affecting residential and commercial customers in New Iberia at Tuesday’s meeting.

The opposition comes in the wake of Mayor Freddie DeCourt choosing to veto an ordinance to renew the city’s 25-year franchise renewal with Cleco following the council approving the ordinance earlier this month.

Legal counsel Jeff Simon said the franchise agreement and rate increases were two separate issues for the council, and after discussing the matter with DeCourt and legal professionals the next step to address utility rate increases was to go to the Louisiana Public Service Commission, which approves all rates in Louisiana.

“It’s possible for us to file certain things, it’s also possible to make certain demands,” Simon said. “We need to get educated.”

Council members Deedy Johnson-Reid and Deidre Ledbetter have both been voicing concerns with utility rate prices that were especially affecting low-income residents in New Iberia.

Johnson-Reid agreed that the council should pursue the franchise agreement and rate increases as two separate issues.

“We understate that there are two separate issues but they are related,” Johnson-Reid said. “We recognize the franchise agreement is a separate issue, but as a council I feel we have to attack both to help our constituents.”

“Maybe New Iberia is going to lead the way for other municipalities,” she added. “It’s about time we stop these large corporations from doing whatever they want to the people we represent.”

The council also struck a motion to amend the budget that would have accepted the signing bonus for a city-wide camera system that would have come as a result of the signing of the franchise agreement that DeCourt vetoed Monday.

DeCourt said the agreement was vetoed as a result of a failure for Cleco to meet all of the demands presented by the council when they approved the ordinance for the agreement on Feb. 7.

“We got very close, one issue we didnt get exactly to what we voted for,” DeCourt said. “What the council votes on is the law, we got very close but we diddn’t get there.”

DeCourt said negotiations are still ongoing and an override to the veto will be presented at the next council meeting.