Resident disputes Leon Valley sewer charge labeled ‘new customer’; city says policy unchanged
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Summary
A longtime resident told council he was being charged a monthly sewer fee he described as unfairly computed for a 'new customer'; staff said the city would not change its policy and offered additional customer meetings.
At the Sept. 2 meeting, resident Mark Broglie told council he had lived in his Leon Valley house since 1974 but was being treated as a “new customer” for sewer billing and assessed an average monthly sewer charge of about $37.
Broglie said his household had very low water use and he wanted Leon Valley to use his actual San Antonio Water System bills rather than an averaging method that he said artificially raised his sewer charge until the winter averaging period ends. He said he received multiple bills showing little or no water use and complained the municipality was effectively “gouging” customers with fixed sewer charges for infrastructure installed decades ago.
City staff responded that San Antonio Water System (SAWS) billing practices differ and that Leon Valley’s sewer policy would not change immediately; staff members said they had contacted Broglie to explain the policy and offered further meetings to review his bills. The manager and other staff also noted the city remits charges to SAWS and that billing conventions and timing explain differing amounts on different bills.
Ending: Staff agreed to meet with Mr. Broglie for a detailed review of his bills; no policy change was made at the meeting.