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Hillaby Towers manager tells Alexander City council property was billed per apartment, not per master meter; files alleged to HUD and AG
Summary
A manager for Hillaby Towers told council the property — a HUD-subsidized complex — has been billed $20 per apartment rather than $20 per master meter, which she says produced thousands in excess charges; she said she filed complaints with the state attorney general and HUD and asked the council to reconfigure bills.
A manager for Hillaby Towers told the Alexander City council during public comments that the property and another federally funded housing complex have been billed an administrative utility charge on a per-apartment basis rather than per master meter and asked the council to correct the billing.
The speaker, identified in the meeting as April (no last name provided), said Hillaby Towers has one master meter but was being charged $20 for each of 78 apartments. April said that difference produces a monthly administrative fee of $1,560 for her property and that, to date, Hillaby Towers has paid $74,880 in what she described as excessive administrative charges. She said the housing authority has incurred at least $4,508 in similar charges. April said she has discussed the matter with City staff and that, after local meetings, she filed complaints with the state attorney general’s office and with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
April read from a written response she said came from Mayor Barrett, which she summarized as stating that the city had stabilized the general fund by borrowing from the enterprise fund and that the administrative fee contributes to administrative payroll. April characterized the mayor’s written explanation as an admission that utility payments were being used, in part, to cover city payroll and called that a misappropriation of federal funds for HUD-subsidized properties. She said she has spoken with HUD representatives and their legal teams about possible legal ramifications.
April described differences in how other facilities are billed and said hotels, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes are not charged the same administrative fee on a per-unit basis. She asked the council to “reconsider how our utility bill is configured” and to adjust the billing to charge the property $20 for the single master meter rather than $20 per apartment.
Council members responded that they would review the complaint and “look at that as a group” and that staff would bring the matter back for further discussion. No formal vote or immediate corrective action was recorded in the portion of the transcript provided.
The complaint and the written responses April described were presented as assertions by April and as excerpts of a written communication; the transcript does not contain an independent city accounting or a recorded staff determination in response to the complaint.
