MOODY — The City Council approved hiring an attorney for the city’s Government Utility Services Board as part of its regular meeting Monday.

Mayor Joe Lee, who also serves as chairman of the GUS Board, recommended hiring Frank McPhillips of Maynard, Cooper and Gale, of Birmingham. According to Lee, the time has come for the city to revisit the interest on the bond issue taken out when the city purchased its sewer system from Birmingham.

“Those bonds are at a high rate of interest right now, and we’ve been advised by our representation that we need to look at refinancing those bonds, to get a lower interest rate, to lower those payments we have through the GUS,” he told the council. “So my recommendation is for the City Council, for us to hire legal representation.”

The motion passed with unanimous consent of the council. According to Lee, the current interest rate — which is 7.5 percent for the majority of the debt and 10 percent for a smaller portion — could drop to as low as 4.5 percent. Following the council meeting, he said a decreased interest rate might result in lower rates for the customers.

“It possibly could,” he said. “That’s why we’re looking at getting the bonds at a lower interest rate, and then we could revisit the rates at that time.”

The GUS Board voted to increased its rates at a December meeting.

“The rates have to justify the bond payment, and that’s why the increase was put in,” Lee said. “If we could get the rates down to justify lowering the bond payment, then yes, we’d reduce the rates.”