Residents report triple water bills after meter-reading failures; council offers follow-up and repayment option

Several Hurst residents used the council's public-comment period to report sudden, large water bills after automated meter readings were missed during the summer and to ask the city for proactive outreach and relief options.

"I was told with specificity that some homes were skipped for 2 months and others were skipped for the whole summer," Candace Swanson (Speaker 7) told the council. Swanson said a skipped reading created a $911.30 catch-up charge on her account and warned that residents on autopay could face overdraft and insufficient-funds fees. She asked the city to delay autopay runs and to notify affected customers proactively so households would not be blindsided.

Brian Rainsford (Speaker 22) said his bill doubled month to month and that he first learned about the problem through a neighborhood Facebook post. Tim Rutledge (Speaker 23) called the billing spike "the ugly side" of city service and said he will not pay an amount he believes is erroneous without the city confirming the expected charge.

City staff answered that customers who were caught up after missed reads can elect to pay the previously billed amount over the next 12 months without penalty; staff (Speaker 16 and Speaker 20) also offered to meet with affected residents after the meeting to discuss account-specific options and next steps. Staff did not provide a timeline for a citywide notice or for when automatic payments might be delayed.

Council did not take an immediate policy vote but staff committed to follow up directly with affected residents and to discuss operational fixes. The council also encouraged residents to contact City Hall for account-specific assistance.