CORNELIUS – A second north Mecklenburg civic leader has been named to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department’s Advisory Committee.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx recently appointed Jim Duke, president of the Peninsula Property Owners Association, to the advisory group that is still dominated by developers and business people associated with the development community. Duke joins Ron Charbonneau, a former president of the River Run Homeowners Association in Davidson, as two “citizen members” of the group that advises utility Director Barry Gullet as well as Charlotte City Council.

In 2009, Duke, as head of the Peninsula property owners group, first raised questions about an unusually large number of residents seeing the same “spikes” in water bills. News coverage about the spike bills sparked more complaints, and Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte asked Duke, a former White House budget analyst, to chair a citizen task force on the issue. Charbonneau also served on the task force, which issued a lengthy report with many recommendations that Gullet has adopted.

Tarte and Davidson Mayor John Woods recommended Duke’s appointment to Foxx.