Mooresville council denies sewer-bill adjustment request for 127 West Harrison Street

Mooresville Town Council on Oct. 7 denied a resident's request to adjust a sewer bill for property at 127 West Harrison Street after the resident did not appear at the meeting.

Town staff reported the account holder, identified in the agenda as Denise McGuire, was billed for 45,000 gallons for the month, a water charge of $294.50, and a penalty of $26.14. The staff-calculated total outstanding balance presented at the meeting was $320.64 (sum of the billed water charge and penalty); staff said the account's typical monthly bill ranges from about $30 to $49.

The resident had asked for an adjustment, saying a garden hose had been left running outdoors for two days. Public works and the water utility had reviewed the request; the water provider denied a leak adjustment because the usage appeared to be water that was used rather than an underground leak and therefore did not qualify under the provider's leak-abatement policy.

Town legal counsel advised council that the town's sewer charge is tied to billed water consumption (the sewer billing assumes water used enters the sanitary system) and that the town's ordinance contains no explicit provision for this factual scenario; the council therefore had discretion. Council members expressed concern that granting an adjustment in this situation could open the door to many similar requests (pool fills, sprinkling, hoses left on) and that the town would have no clear standard to apply.

A councilmember moved to deny the adjustment request; the council voted 5-0 to deny the claim.

Why it matters: The decision preserves the town's current practice of relying on the water provider's leak-adjustment determinations and leaves no new policy exception for above-ground, user-created water use. Staff noted that the water provider's leak adjustment rules would apply in cases of qualifying underground leaks.