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Nueces County disputes large city gas bills after staff install parallel meter to verify readings
Summary
County officials told commissioners they are contesting unusually high gas bills attributed to city meter readings; the county installed a parallel meter, hired an engineer, and dispatched a letter to the city manager while budgeting conservatively for what it calls a potentially faulty meter error.
NUECES COUNTY — County officials told the Commissioners Court on Wednesday they are contesting a string of unusually high utility bills that have driven mechanical‑maintenance costs sharply over budget.
The judge said the county experienced months of unusually high gas bills — one month exceeding $100,000 — and the county hired an outside engineer and installed a parallel meter next to the city’s meter to verify readings. ‘‘We think it’s a faulty meter,’’ the judge said, adding that the engineer’s estimate indicates normal monthly gas costs should be about $48,000 instead of the much larger bills the county received.
Miss Gartner said mechanical maintenance and building utility charges show a significant overage (she cited an overage in the mechanical maintenance line of roughly $750,000), and staff suspect the city’s meter‑reading process shifted a decimal point or otherwise misread consumption. The county has written the city manager and said it will pursue remediation if the meter proves to be wrong.
Commissioners asked whether staff had checked for a gas leak; county staff said AP/accounts‑payable monitors flagged the anomalies and maintenance staff have not found evidence of a leak. Commissioners also requested the county be notified promptly if future billing anomalies occur so they can be included in near‑term budget discussions.
No formal action was taken; staff said they will continue monitoring the parallel meter, provide updates to the court, and pursue resolution with the city manager.
Closing note: the county emphasized it will budget conservatively for worst‑case utility costs until the dispute is resolved.
