Norwich — The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an ordinance to bond $2.9 million to upgrade some 4,000 Norwich Public Utilities water meters to automated units, reversing a vote against the project taken in December.

The action required the council first to approve an amendment to its rules and procedures allowing reconsideration of recent votes.

The bond will be paid through a controversial 22.7 percent rate increase approved last May. The utilities commission split the rate into two increases, a 10 percent hike that took effect last July and another 12.7 percent increase that starts this month.

NPU Assistant General Manager Chris LaRose told aldermen Tuesday that three positions will be eliminated, but no layoffs would occur due to the automation. One staff person will be reassigned and the other two positions were temporary and will be eliminated through attrition.

LaRose said replacing obsolete and inefficient meters would save some customers from overpaying for water usage, and overall the project would save NPU $875,000 annually. The project would pay for itself in three years. But water customers are not expected to see reduced water rates with those savings. Instead, LaRose said, the project would stall future increases. Without the upgrade, NPU faces rising costs of $1.2 million, LaRose said.

Although the vote was unanimous, Alderwoman Joanne Philbrick said she felt “pressured” by NPU officials — she did not name individuals but said LaRose was not one of them — to change her Dec. 19 vote. Philbrick and Aldermen Gerald Martin and William Nash voted against the ordinance that night, with a 4-3 vote in favor not reaching the five-majority vote needed to pass the spending measure.

Philbrick said she still had questions about the project and her water bill, objecting to the lack of projected drop in rates and questioning how the increased rates are being spent on system improvement projects.

Martin led the effort to reconsider the ordinance, saying many of his initial questions were answered. He also was concerned that Norwich would lose a $2.9 million low-interest loan through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund that will finance the project.

“I was not pressured into doing this,” Martin said.

c.bessette@theday.com