Council credits, waives late fees after two residents report faulty meters and runaway bills

Harrisburg City Council approved adjustments and fee waivers after two residents asked the council to review unusually high water and sewer bills they said were caused by faulty meters or hidden leaks.

Resident Randy Hamilton told the council his bills jumped from about $480 in November to nearly $1,000 in December after the city installed a new meter. "I'm not liable for at all for that thousand dollar bill and possibly a portion of that $425 bill," Hamilton said, adding that a subsequent full reading showed usage consistent with a much lower monthly charge.

The council voted to "adjust off" Hamilton's charges through the end of the year; the motion specified Hamilton would be responsible for charges beginning with January's billing cycle. Council members indicated the adjustment would give staff time to monitor the new meters. The motion was seconded and approved on roll call with all members voting aye.

Jason and Charlene Rose, who said they are local foster parents, described a separate spike: their normal bills of about $200 rose to $941 in November and about $1,010 in December. The Roses said they hired a plumber who found a running toilet that had been repaired but not fully corrected. Jill, a city utility staff member, explained the city uses a tiered rate schedule. She gave the council the tier thresholds and rates, including the lowest tier at 0–3,000 gallons and higher tiers that increase to $31.79 per thousand gallons at the highest usage band.

The council approved moving the Roses back to the tier they previously paid, required them to set up a payment plan to clear the outstanding charges and agreed to waive the most recent late fee. That motion was approved on roll call with all members voting aye.

Council members said staff should continue monitoring new meters installed in November and December and that customers who can show repairs or other evidence of leaks may be eligible for adjustments. The council did not adopt a citywide policy change during the meeting; the motions applied to the two accounts presented.

Votes at a glance

- Adjustment for Randy Hamilton: motion to adjust bills through end of year and make January onward the customer's responsibility — approved (roll call: Kaczynski aye; Maxwell aye; Westerman aye; Ken (surname not specified) aye).

- Adjustment for Jason and Charlene Rose: motion to return account to prior usage tier, require a payment plan and waive the most recent late fee — approved (roll call: Kaczynski aye; Maxwell aye; Westerman aye; Hinton aye).

The council thanked the residents and utility staff for bringing the cases forward and said staff would follow up with account reconciliations and monitoring of the new meters.