Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Water Billing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Miami to cut water consumption fee 6% after audit, meter fixes
Summary
City commissioners voted unanimously to lower the water consumption portion of utility bills by 6% effective Oct. 1, 2025, after city staff said prior underbilling tied to meter reading and rate-application errors produced multi-year enterprise shortfalls. Council approved purchases of additional automated meters to finish system modernization.
City of West Miami commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday to reduce the water consumption portion of residents’ utility bills by 6% beginning Oct. 1, 2025, following an administrative review that officials said found prior underbilling tied to meter-reading and billing practices.
City Manager said the underbilling problem stemmed from how meters were read and billing rates were applied: “The issues were underestimated amounts that were being used, because we were not being able to read our water meters correctly,” he said during his manager’s report. The commission approved the rate cut at the meeting after staff said three billing cycles under the new automated meters gave them enough confidence to lower the rate while keeping the water and sewer enterprise fund solvent.
City officials emphasized the measure follows work to replace analog meters with automated meters and to correct billing practices. Finance Director Cody McCall told commissioners the old system “was consistently underbilled from the consumption and what was actually being being billed.” He and the manager said correcting that pattern allowed staff to both reduce the stated consumption rate and plan for ongoing enterprise fund stability.
At the same meeting the commission also approved purchasing an additional 100 automated water meters to complete the city’s conversion and to hold spares for equipment failures. The manager said the meters will be paid from the enterprise fund and that the purchases will allow the city to stop estimating usage and to read meters automatically.
Commission discussion included requests for a public explanation to residents. Commissioner Blanes suggested a town-hall-style briefing so long-time customers who saw dramatic bill changes would understand the billing corrections and the steps the city took to address them.
The resolution lowering the consumption fee passed unanimously (Commissioners Gustavo Ceballos, Luciano Suarez, Juan Blanes, Vice Mayor Ivan Chavez Jr. and Mayor Eric Diaz Padron voted yes). Staff said the change does not create a projected operating deficit for the water enterprise for FY2026 based on current forecasts and the corrected billing base.
City staff said they will continue outreach explaining the meter upgrades, the reasons some customers previously saw large bill increases, and the October effective date for the lower consumption charge.
