Members of the Naperville City Council debated Tuesday night the appointment of a Chicago public relations consultant to educate residents about the city's Smart Grid Initiative Program.

They eventually approved by a 5-4 vote a budget of $135,000 for the consultant to complete Phase 1 of Smart Grid's education program. The budget originally was pegged at $150,000, but Councilman Grant Wehrli changed the hiring proposal by removing a $15,000 cost for the creation of a logo.

The Smart Grid Initiative is a $22 million utility improvement plan slated for completion in Naperville by 2012. Grants from the U.S. Energy Department are footing half the bill, and the other half will be paid for through 20-year municipal bonds, according to council documents.

Phase 1 of the project will begin in October and run through June 2011. It includes the start-up and pilot program.

"In the spring, we will be installing 57,323 new (electrical) meters in the place of old meters," said Councilman Robert Fieseler, who supported appointing the Chicago consultant and the original budget. "There needs to be an effort to tell residents …"

But Councilman Richard Furstenau said getting the word out to residents shouldn't cost so much.

"The council gave pretty decisive direction a month ago … saying we're not going to spend $400,000 on this stuff," he said. "If we have to do this much convincing that Smart Grid is a good thing … I don't believe the program is all that hot to begin with."

Fieseler disagreed, noting that, "Saying Smart Grid shouldn't be in Naperville is like saying the city shouldn't use the Internet."

The total budget for the three-phase public education aspect of the initiative is about $390,000, according to council documents. That's about $70,000 less than the budget that was originally proposed. Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the project will be brought back individually for the council's consideration.

The goal of the program is to provide increased reliability and technology to Naperville residents, who will be able to track their utility use online at any time and cut down on use if necessary, council members said. The improvements also may yield savings on consumers' electric bills, city documents state.

"Over the next 15 years, there is a potential to save Naperville electric customers more than $30 million in today's dollars," council documents state. "This initiative serves as a model for upgrading and automating the city's electric distribution system to meet consumer needs, achieve dramatic improvements in reliability and lower operations and maintenance costs."

Councilwoman Judy Brodhead supports Smart Grid because she knows the city's meters have to be replaced anyway.

"The best way to do that is through these smart meters," she said Tuesday. "We have a utility that is not here to make a profit … we are our own utility. That's why our electric bills can be lower than some of our neighboring communities."