The Athens City Council on Monday unanimously approved operating budgets for the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

Specifically, those included the general fund, special revenue, landfill, special school fund, contingency fund, and the sewer, gas and water departments.

The council also approved a rate increase of 1.5 percent for the Athens Utilities electric department, effective for meters read on or after Oct. 1. That equates to an increase of $1.45 cents per month, per customer, using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month.

The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors recently voted to increase wholesale electric rates, which necessitated the need for Athens Utilities to raise its customer rates.

See more coverage from Monday’s City Council meeting in the Wednesday edition of The News Courier.