The Charleston City Council voted Tuesday to approve a $1.7 million loan to fund the new automated meter reading systems.

The resolution that executed the agreement for the automated meter reading systems was present during the last city council meeting and was tabled for public inspection.

Mayor John Inyart and the members of the council unanimously agreed that no one had provided feedback to them regarding the new system.

“We have worked this from every angle and it seems to me like the right thing to do,” Inyart said.

The council also approved an amendment to the city’s budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

The council also approved an ordinance that will raise the water/sewer rate by $2.14, raising the average bill to $63.14 a month.

“We do this every year,” Inyart said. “We are making every attempt to lower (the rates).”

The ordinance raising the bill was filed for public inspection during last week’s city council meeting.

The council also approved a resolution that will allow the city to enter into a contract with AgendaQuick, an automated agenda software system.

Inyart said the new system will save time by having all the information online, instead of the city clerk having to put together multiple packets for each meeting.

The council also filed an ordinance for public inspection that will increase ambulance rates from a base rate of $372.40 to $385 for Charleston citizens and full-time Eastern students.

The increase also affects the fees for basic and advanced life support and the mileage fee. The new ordinance increases the basic life support fee from $561.40 to $578.20 and the per mileage fee from $10.81 to $11.10.

“As our costs continue to increase, we have to charge more to provide those services,” Inyart said.

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or kjrichter@eiu.edu.