West Bend council denies relief request for homeowner’s large water bill 7–1

The West Bend Common Council voted 7–1 on April 21 to deny a resident’s request for financial relief after a single billing period showed what council members described as unusually high usage.

Alderman Butchlik moved to deny the request for relief; Alderman Schmidt seconded the motion. The meeting record shows the motion passed "7 to 1." The city treated the matter under its sewer and water utility policies and offered the homeowner a payment plan for the large balance, but the council did not authorize a discount to sewer charges.

Alderman Seizer said the situation appeared to be an accident and that the resident had agreed to pay the full water charge but sought a sewer discount. "The invoice what bothered me most was that the invoice was 21 times higher than the normal bridal," Seizer said. Seizer said he supported the previously discussed discount to water charges from the utility but that the sewer utility policy did not allow the relief the resident sought.

Alderman Butchlik, who visited the property before the meeting, said he saw where the garden hose had been and said a ponding area and ice behind the house suggested a lot of water ran from an exterior faucet. "There are some situations that should have been checked out before this whole scenario came through when the water department finally found out what the problem was," Butchlik said. He argued the council should adhere to established policy.

Utility staff explained that meters are read quarterly and that the prior bill was normal; they said the high reading would not have been visible to city meter readers before the billing cycle closed. A utilities representative noted that after the high reading was processed and downloaded to the billing system, the city notified the resident within 24 hours. "Within 24 hours, we notified mister Phillips. In my opinion, 24 hours is a really good response time," the utilities representative said.

Ruth (city utilities staff) told the council that the utility had offered a payment plan and could negotiate monthly terms with the customer; the plan would not apply penalties to the balance if an agreement is reached. The council rejected a motion to grant a sewer discount and confirmed the city's position that sewer-discount policy would not be changed for this account.

The record does not show the name of the lone dissenting council member.

Next steps: the utilities department retains authority to negotiate a confidential payment plan with the resident to spread the balance over multiple months with no penalties; the council's denial means no council‑authorized discount will be applied to the account.