Council waives $10 late fee for residents affected by water meter reading errors

The Lindsay City Council on Tuesday voted to waive the city—s standard $10 late fee for residents whose water consumption was not billed properly, city staff said. City staff explained that a portion of residents in the affected area had received bills that charged the meter fee but did not include consumption charges because the consumption readings were not recorded. Staff said the problem appeared to cover multiple months for many accounts — "about 5 to 6 months," according to staff remarks — and said they have been verifying meter reads and offering account assistance. Council considered a staff recommendation to waive the $10 late fee for the impacted region and to extend the relief through December 2025. The waiver was limited to customers in the service area where the reading discrepancy occurred; staff said customers in other areas were not eligible. Council members asked for clarity on the length of the unpaid consumption period and whether the city would provide time to pay larger balances that resulted from the missed consumption billing. A council member asked staff to align repayment extensions with the number of months of missed billing ("If they have 5 months, give them 5 months"). Staff said they were offering account review and payment-extension options tailored to each customer. The council moved to approve the staff recommendation to waive the late fee for the affected accounts through December 2025 and to have staff offer repayment plans and account reviews; the motion passed.