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Caller seeks code change after disputed water bill; asks committee to reverse appeals board order
Summary
Dr. Long Banks Wyatt told the City Utilities Committee she inherited a large water bill for the late Carolyn Long Banks, asked the committee to treat missed meter readings as a billing error under Code Sect. 154.26.1, and asked for recalculation of a Water and Sewer Appeals Board order.
Dr. Long Banks Wyatt told the City Utilities Committee on April 29 she is asking the city to revise its code and to review a Water and Sewer Appeals Board order tied to her late mother’s property.
Wyatt said she inherited the property and a disputed ‘water bill’ that she attributes to an omitted meter reading and, earlier, a water leak. Citing “Code Sect. 154, 26, subsection 1,” she asked the committee to recognize omission of a timely meter reading as a billing error. She said her mother was bedridden and could not have used the water quantity the city assessed in estimated bills.
Wyatt also asked the committee to reverse a Water and Sewer Appeals Board order and asked that the board recalculate an amount she said had been charged from 11 cc’s down to “maybe 3 or 4 cc’s,” based on the household’s circumstances and the subsequent repair she completed on April 22, 2023.
Committee response and next steps - Committee members identified two separate matters: (1) the individual billing dispute, and (2) a proposed change to the municipal code. Members asked Wyatt to submit the proposed code language and supporting citation by email so staff could review it. - A committee member suggested Watershed staff meet with Wyatt before she left the meeting; staff offered to connect with her and follow up.
What was in the record - Wyatt read the language she wants added to the code (she quoted “Code Sect 154, 26, subsection 1” and asked that omission of a meter reading be explicitly recognized as a billing error). She asked the committee to require the Department of Watershed Management to adopt billing practices to protect senior citizens from improperly estimated bills. - Wyatt’s remarks were public comment; the committee did not make an immediate policy change. Members asked her to send proposed language and citation by email to the committee for formal review.
Ending - Committee staff and Watershed representatives agreed to follow up. The committee recorded that staff would accept Wyatt’s emailed proposal and review the appeals board order and the underlying billing documentation.
