Jamestown council orders staff review after homeowner—9s $1,200 water bill

A Jamestown homeowner told the Town Council that an October water bill exceeded $1,200 after a basement-to-outdoor-shower line flooded while the family was away. The council voted to have staff review the account and pursue a reduction to the sewer charge.

The homeowner said she returned from vacation to find the crawl space flooded and learned from town staff that the meter had registered roughly 38,500 gallons between readings. "We turned off the water right away, and we called a plumber," the speaker said when describing the discovery of the leak and the contractor visit. Council members asked staff to compare the bill with the household—9s typical usage and to pursue relief if the excess was due to a leak outside the sewer system.

Councilor (mover) brought the motion that staff review the Bentley sewer bill and "work with the staff to reduce your bill because your outdoor shower decided to do its own thing." The motion was seconded, and the council approved it by voice vote.

Town staff previously advised residents to check meter readings for unexplained usage, and the council has discussed new telemetry meters that will provide near-real-time usage data (a separate agenda item). The review will determine whether sewer charges should be adjusted to reflect that the excess water did not enter the sanitary system. The council did not set a date for final action; staff will report back with their findings.