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Resident reports $6,000 water bill; council schedules work session on leak-adjustment policy
Summary
A Scappoose resident told the council she accrued about $6,000 in water charges while having no access to service; city staff agreed to follow up and council authorized a January work session to review the leak-adjustment policy and meter alert technology.
A Scappoose resident described an ongoing billing dispute and council directed staff to follow up and study policy options.
Marcy Heckman, who identified herself as a Scappoose resident, told the council during public comment that after losing her main water line in February 2020 she received no service for four years and recently had her line repaired but remains without access because the utility requires payment on an accrued balance that is "up to $6,000," she said. The mayor asked Heckman to provide contact information so City Manager Benjamin Berger and staff could follow up directly.
Later in the meeting staff and council discussed the city's existing water-leak adjustment resolution, which currently allows adjustments for leaks between the meter and the building for a single month when repairs are documented. Berger said customers and a business owner have requested expanding adjustments to inside-the-house leaks; councilors debated administrative burden, equity and the risk of discrimination if staff had discretion to make ad-hoc exceptions. Public Works Director Dave Soukow and staff explained the city's current practice for detecting high use and the limits of staff capacity.
After discussion council agreed to schedule a half-hour work session in January to examine options including whether to broaden the adjustment policy, whether to retain the existing one-month limit, and whether meter-portal or alert technology would reduce claims and administrative costs.
What happens next: Staff will gather additional information (including examples from other cities and vendor capabilities) and bring the topic to a January work session for public input and further council direction. City staff asked Heckman to provide contact details so they can investigate her account and attempt to resolve the individual billing problem.
Sources: Public comment by Marcy Heckman and city-manager remarks and council discussion at the Dec. 16 Scappoose City Council meeting.
