Council denies request to reduce sewer charges for resident's unusually high bill; payment-plan option offered

The Common Council voted to deny a request from resident Mike Phillips for relief from sewer charges tied to an unusually high quarterly water bill that reflected approximately 21 times his normal usage.

Council members discussed facts introduced at a prior meeting and during this session. The council record shows Mr. Phillips’s bill was far above his prior usage; city staff reported visible puddles/ice near the property and a running hose in the backyard that later was identified as the source. Mr. Phillips told council he believed water in the yard was from a sump pump and that he did not realize water was running. He offered to pay the full water charge but sought a reduction of sewer charges on the basis the sewage system was not used in proportion to the water use.

Utility staff (Ruth) explained the city reads meters quarterly and therefore would not have known about a backyard leak between readings; because the meter reading that produced the high bill was processed, staff contacted Mr. Phillips within 24 hours, which the utility described as a prompt courtesy notification. Staff said a discount had been applied to the water portion of the bill previously discussed, but that the sewer utility’s policy does not provide for sewer charge discounts in this circumstance. Staff also said the utility offered a payment plan to spread the balance over a negotiated number of months without penalties; Mr. Phillips had not yet accepted a payment-plan arrangement at the time of the meeting.

Several council members expressed sympathy for Mr. Phillips and asked whether the city could detect similar events earlier; utility staff reiterated the limits of quarterly meter reading and said there was no way to have detected a rear-yard leak between read dates absent visible surface water. Others argued the city must adhere to its sewer-utility policy and warned of creating exceptions that could set precedents.

Alderman Butchlick moved and Alderman Schmidt seconded a motion to deny the relief request and follow the water-utility/sewer policy; the motion passed. The record shows council approved the motion with in-meeting voice vote; no roll-call ballot was read into the transcript.

Ending: The resident may pursue the offered payment plan with utility staff; the council declined to make a policy exception for sewer charges and directed the utility to continue applying its established policy and outreach procedures.