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Del City leaders push plain facts, one point of contact after water-bill spike
Summary
Following a wave of higher water bills, councilors and staff told residents the recent increases reflect billing catch-up—not a new rate—and discussed a communications strategy to publish facts via website FAQs, targeted social posts and a single point of contact to reduce misinformation.
Residents filled much of Del City’s Nov. 3 meeting to press the City Council about unexpectedly higher water bills. Several residents described steep jumps in minimum charges despite low consumption; Ralph Emerson said his minimum rose from $43.27 to $56.53 and calculated the change as roughly a 30% increase.
City officials repeatedly told residents the change was not a new water rate but a billing catch-up as the city moves away from a 28-day billing cycle toward twice-monthly billing and sought to clear accumulated service-date discrepancies. "This is not about a rate increase. No rate increase has happened," a council speaker said, explaining staff were billing additional days to catch up for earlier months. Staff offered one-on-one bill reviews in the utility office so customers could review service dates and resolve anomalies.
Council members and staff spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing how to counter misinformation on social media. Mayor Eason urged the city to "publish facts, not opinions," and said the councilors make only $100 a month and do not “line their pockets,” calling for factual posts explaining how inflation and specific cost drivers (insurance, energy, disposal) affect utility rates. Councilwoman Brown volunteered to help with communications; City Manager JD and staff described existing materials on the city website (utility-billing FAQ) and a "Did You Know" social campaign. Utility staff warned that direct social-media engagement can become unmanageable and reiterated staff hours and contact points for customers.
Residents and council members suggested steps including: posting short, example-based FAQs that demonstrate typical bills by consumption level; linking social posts directly to web FAQs; offering targeted push-notifications or texts; and training neighborhood-watch volunteers to direct residents to official information. City staff also noted specific operational steps underway such as one-on-one bill reviews and an internal check of service-date records.
No policy vote was taken; the discussion was recorded as "discussion only" with commitments from staff to post clearer FAQ content and for councilmembers to return to the agenda with recommended communication steps within weeks.
