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Panama City officials move to curb surprise water bills as meter and billing problems persist
Summary
Residents described months-to-years of estimated water billing that produced large, unexpected charges; commissioners agreed to pursue a policy to limit retroactive billing and to accelerate meter replacements and reporting.
Panama City residents told elected officials Wednesday that long-running meter and billing problems have produced “surprise” water charges and deep confusion over account estimates, prompting commissioners to direct staff to bring a policy for review and to accelerate system fixes.
Residents at the town hall said many accounts have been billed on estimated usage for months or years; several said high retroactive bills arrived when the city finally read meters. The concern prompted an immediate call from commissioners for a clearer process and a written policy saying the city will not pursue retroactive billing when underreporting results from meter or system errors.
The issue has multiple parts: aging or missing MXU remote-read units, manual reads that lag, and a billing system that has in some cases failed to display that a customer’s bill was "estimated." Resident George…
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