Litchfield Approves $14,000 Meter Reading Software Upgrade

Article Summary: The Litchfield City Council voted 7-0 on Sept. 3 to approve a $14,000 quote from Midwest Meter Inc. for meter reading software, replacing technology city staff said has been unsupported for roughly 10 years. Staff told the council the city currently runs three different meter reading systems and expects to bring forward a separate, larger proposal for cellular read meters.

Meter Reading Software Key Points:

The quote from Midwest Meter Inc. of Edinburg covers Beacon software, software integration and training for $14,000.

The cost will be divided between the water and sewer enterprise funds.

Midwest Meter is described as the sole distributor in the area for software compatible with the city’s Badger meters.

Additional recurring fees listed on the quote are invoiced directly by Badger and are not part of the $14,000 the council approved.

LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, unanimously approved a quote from Midwest Meter Inc. for meter reading software at a cost not to exceed $14,000, a purchase staff framed as the first step in a broader overhaul of how the city reads water meters.

Alderperson Robert Garcia made the motion, seconded by Alderperson Dwayne Gerl. The roll call was 7-0.

The agenda memo states the current meter reading technology the city uses with its Badger meters is outdated and has been unsupported for approximately 10 years, and that Midwest Meter is the sole distributor in the area for software compatible with Badger meters. The upgrade will allow the city to run on supported software, according to the memo, and the city will purchase a Toughbook through its IT vendor. The cost will be divided between the water and sewer enterprise funds. The memo lists the city administrator, public works director and finance consultant as recommending approval.

**What the Quote Includes

**The Midwest Meter quote in the packet is dated Aug. 31, 2026, valid until Oct. 30, 2026, and lists Justin Conaway as salesperson, with terms of net 30 and F.O.B. job site. It is headed “Badger Beacon/Blue Edge Mobile Solution Pricing.” The single priced line is Beacon software, software integration and training at $14,000, which is also the quote total.

The quote lists three further charges described as invoiced directly by Badger and not included in that total: a Beacon Mobile hosting service fee of $0.12 per unit per month across 3,525 units, shown on the quote as $423 per month; a Beacon Mobile read module license annual fee of $1,224; and a user login for Beacon Mobile annual fee of $384. Midwest Meter Inc. is listed at 200 East Franklin in Edinburg.

A Larger Meter Decision Ahead

Discussion centered on where the purchase fits in the city’s infrastructure plans. One council member said the city’s meters themselves are not faulty but are aging, and that modernizing them will help identify problems and ultimately save the public money. “I know we’re probably going to see a lot of meter things coming up here over the next several years and I think that’s going to be a good thing for the public,” he said. Another described the purchase as part of a larger plan to work through the community’s infrastructure needs.

City Administrator Breann Vazquez said the city has meters in the basements of residences and currently operates three different meter reading systems, with the software roughly a decade out of support. She said that when the city had a problem, it had to track down a single person in Missouri who had been with the company at the time to help the city through it, and who told staff the system badly needed upgrading.

Vazquez said the city will soon bring forward a proposal to move to cellular read meters, which she described as a much larger discussion. “Whether we go that route or stay with our radio meters, upgrading the meter reading software to a supported module is essential,” she said. “So this will be used regardless of which direction we head in.”