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Kearney resident challenges $313 water bill after meter replacement; city offers repayment plan
Summary
Resident Marcy Mason told the Kearney Board of Aldermen she received zero-usage bills for six months after a January meter replacement while system logs showed 14,300 gallons used; city staff recalculated charges, applied credits for minimum monthly bills and offered a year-long repayment plan for the remaining balance.
Marcy Mason told the Kearney Board of Aldermen on Sept. 3 that a January meter replacement left her account showing zero usage for six months even though system records show 14,300 gallons of water were used during that period.
"I was raised in the newspaper business of truth, honesty, and facts," Mason said in public comment, recounting bank records and printed utility statements she brought to the meeting. She said she had continued to pay the city’s minimum monthly bill and only learned of the higher usage when staff provided a five‑page set of meter statistics emailed to her on Aug. 30.
City Administrator Sheila explained the discrepancy: the city’s meter-reading platform (Census) contains the correct hourly readings, but when a staff member entered the new meter number into the billing system (Koozie) an extra digit was entered, preventing the import of the Census readings into the billing account. As a result, Mason’s monthly bills showed zero usage while Census recorded water consumption.
Sheila said utility staff audited the account, recalculated charges and recognized that Mason had been paying the minimum monthly charge (which covers 1,000 gallons per month). "When Molly recalculated the bill and credited the six months of minimum charges the outstanding balance dropped to $189.53," Sheila said, adding that staff offered a repayment plan to spread that amount over the next 12 months while keeping future bills current.
Aldermen stressed the need for better cross‑system reconciliation. The presiding official asked staff to prepare a report on corrective actions after noting the city has had multiple meter‑installation and billing issues over the last year. Alderman Leaming urged a one‑on‑one meeting with Mason to explain the recalculation in person.
Sheila also suggested Mason may qualify for a senior discount and said staff would verify and, if appropriate, apply it retroactively for the six months in question.
The city did not propose waiving charges for actual water usage. Sheila and the mayor said they cannot legally waive a user charge for a single account because doing so would shift costs to other ratepayers; any rate changes or write‑offs should be applied to classes of customers to avoid discrimination or liability.
Next steps: staff will follow up directly with Mason by email (as requested) and provide the board a corrective‑actions report on meter entry, reconciliation procedures and any proposed policy changes to reduce similar errors.
