Months after they promised reports from consultants and action to reverse the financial slide of the iProvo telecommunications network, city officials say they need a little more time to get a plan in place.

Though the reports are late, the previously toxic atmosphere between the mayor and some of the council appears to be clearing. For example, Councilman George Stewart has long decried iProvo as a service that should be provided by the private sector and fiercely defended himself from perceived attacks during Mayor Lewis Billings's state-of-the-city address just two months ago.

But on Wednesday he took a different tack.

"I feel like they're moving actually in a positive direction," he said.

His perspective has changed since the mayor has come forward with ways to bring iProvo back into the black. (The system was $1.2 million short last year and is on track to be $1.8 million short this year.) Options include bringing on new service providers, requiring city utilities to pay for use of iProvo (much like they would with a private business) and the possibility of some sort of private partnership.

Those ideas aren't new, but the fact that the Mayor's Office is looking for change instead of steadfastly claiming iProvo will work out is encouraging to Stewart. Even not seeing the reports doesn't bother him as long as the information comes before work on the city budget begins in earnest in May.

"I'm willing to give them that time," he said.

Another iProvo opponent, Councilman Steve Turley, isn't so willing. On Monday, he told council leaders he wanted to see the consultant reports or he'd go after them himself, through an open records request if necessary.

"If there was good news in the consultant reports, you would have got something hot off the press," said Turley, who has been told the consultants have been asked to follow up on the reports with specific parameters.

"At the end of the day, are we just trying to shuffle it from one column to another?" he said.

Last week, the mayor met with the council to answer questions about iProvo and other issues. But he met with them only three at a time to avoid a quorum and the requisite notice of a public meeting.

The meetings also included an executive session with the full council. Such sessions are set aside to discuss litigation, personnel or real-estate concerns.

The meetings were successful, Billings said, and the reports haven't come out yet because of the complexity of the issue.

"At this point, until we know all of the aspects ... I don't think you'll see a final consultant's report," he said. "We want those reports to be concurrent and current."

He said he would like to have a plan in place for the coming fiscal year but that "corn grows as fast as corn grows."

The number of subscribers has grown to more than 10,000 households, nearly a third of the city, and the mark city leaders hoped would be the break-even point. But the business/residential split isn't what was expected.

More multi-dwelling units and fewer business are using iProvo than expected. The former generates the least revenue and the latter the most per hookup.

Service providers are also having a hard time keeping customers and one of the major financial concerns is that overturn.

Another point most agree on is that it is difficult to make money using the wholesale model. Provo provides the fiber-optic lines to service providers who go out and get customers for phone, Internet and TV service. The providers get a monthly fee from those customers and then pay the city a fee for use of the lines.

The regularity of those payments is in question and the focus of a state audit. The state received complaints in December that service providers are delinquent with payments to the city.

State Auditor Auston Johnson said Wednesday that he couldn't comment on an ongoing investigation but that he expects results in a few weeks.

"We're staying with our original plan," he said.