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5 <br /> _. 3 <br /> Energy Policy: Town of Chapel Hill <br /> Introduction: The cost of energy represents a significant portion of the Town budget. In fact, the <br /> cost of electricity,natural gas and motor fuels for all funds is about $920,000 per year. In addition <br /> to these direct costs, our energy consumption has certain negative effects on the environment, <br /> particularly air quality, depletes our natural resources and constitutes an economic loss to our <br /> community. In view of the above, the Town of.Chapel Hill adopts the energy policy described <br /> herein. <br /> 1. Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the municipal government of the Town <br /> of Chapel Hill is a responsible, effective and efficient user of energy. The daily operations <br /> of a municipal government require the use of a great deal of energy to heat and cool our <br /> buildings, to light our work areas and to fuel the automobiles, trucks and buses that we use <br /> to deliver essential services to the public. We will always be a large consumer of energy; <br /> however, we can and should take steps to eliminate waste and minimize our energy costs <br /> and consumption and utilize renewable energy resources where we can do so without <br /> compromising the quality of our service delivery. <br /> 2. Responsibility for Energy Management: The Town Manager is responsible for the effective <br /> and efficient use of all Town resources, including energy resources. The Town Manager may <br /> delegate the authority for such management to various other members of the staff. At the <br /> discretion of the Town Manager a "Town Energy Manager" may be appointed from among <br /> the existing staff to coordinate energy management tasks among the staff. As the need arises, <br /> the Town Manager may appoint AD HOC staff working groups to concentrate on various <br /> aspects of this policy. <br /> 3. Goals an&Objectives: The primary objective of this policy is to improve energy efficiency in <br /> all Town operations while maintaining the high quality of municipal services. <br /> a. Measuring Energy Usage. The first energy management priority of the Town Manager is to <br /> develop standard procedures for accurately measuring the Town's energy use and establishing <br /> a baseline from which to measure progress toward the goal of increased energy efficiency. <br /> Possible measures of effectiveness could be BTUs per square foot for buildings, miles per <br /> gallon for various classes of vehicles and total BTU's per citizen. This effort will include <br /> development of a series of graphic representations of the Town's energy use suitable for <br /> inclusion in the Town Manager's quarterly report. These graphic reports will include <br /> electricity, natural gas,water and motor fuels. <br /> b. Strategic Energy Management Plan. The Town Manager, in consultation with the Citizen's <br /> Energy Task Force, is charged with developing a Strategic Energy Management Plan for <br /> the Town of-Chapel Hill. This plan should cover no less than a five year period and will be <br /> updated annually. The initial plan shall be prepared for submission with the Town <br />