Prince George County approves $2.297M settlement with Hopewell after metering audit
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Summary
Following an internal audit that found four years of faulty sewer flow readings, the board approved a $2,297,273.99 settlement to the City of Hopewell to correct underpayments; funds will come from the county's utility reserve and will increase near-term budget pressure.
Prince George County on Tuesday approved a resolution authorizing execution of a settlement agreement with the City of Hopewell for $2,297,273.99 to resolve sewer-fee discrepancies dating back to 2021.
Frank Holcomb, the county’s director of utilities and engineering, told the board the department discovered three distinct metering problems: a remote-monitoring (SCADA) translation that failed to apply a required multiplier of 100, a scale calibration error that progressively skewed readings, and one meter that was physically reading in reverse. "The remote monitoring led to that misreading of the meters by a factor of 100 times its true reading," Holcomb said, describing how the data sent to Hopewell had lacked the required multiplication.
Holcomb said the county had met with City of Hopewell staff and attorneys, audited historical readings and worked with the city to calculate an agreed settlement amount. The county has funds available in its Utility Reserve Fund to cover the payment; Holcomb also warned that the operating budget would be strained going forward and that the current budget shows an approximate $600,000 shortfall that the reserve will temporarily cover.
After brief questions from board members about when the remeasure occurred and whether the county should pursue operational changes to prevent recurrence, the board voted to approve the settlement on a roll-call vote. The resolution directs the county to execute the agreement and to use reserve funds as described in staff materials.
Next procedural steps: staff will make the settlement payment to Hopewell and present any related budget adjustments and proposed rate or budget changes to the board in follow-up budget work sessions.
