Hialeah council directs staff to draft change to leak-credit policy after members express concern about high water bills

Council members directed city staff to draft a resolution that would amend Hialeah's policy on credits for residential water bills caused by leaks. The motion asked staff to investigate lowering the threshold used to determine credits: the current practice credited bills that were four times a customer's typical usage; the proposed change would lower that to twice typical usage.

Council members said residents reported very large bills due to leaks and that the current threshold and credit rules made assistance harder to obtain. Staff and council discussed differences between the city's practice and Miami-Dade County's policy, including that the county provides a one-time credit rather than repeated credits. The city's water and sewer director was not present, and council members asked that the director be present to explain operational implications before final action.

The council voted to direct the law department to draft a resolution or ordinance amending the written policy and return it for formal consideration. The motion was approved by roll call; councilmembers voting in favor included Rodriguez, Tunidor, La Vega, Junco and Perez; Zogby voted no. The council did not adopt the policy at the meeting; it authorized staff to prepare draft legislation for a future meeting.