Bruceville-Eddy — Council members spent extensive time on Sept. 26 discussing city policy that requires new customers to pay full tap, meter, feasibility and connection fees when a previously installed meter had been removed for nonpayment or at a prior owner’s request. Staff said the practice is intended to recover costs and to ensure the city’s meter/tap accounting accurately reflects system capacity.

City Administrator Kent Manton told the council that a customer who asks for a meter removal signs a notarized form and that, if they later seek reinstatement, “your tap fee, your meter fee, your water feasibility fee would all have to be repaid … plus a connection fee.” He said the city has been using that approach to recover costs incurred when meters are removed and later reinstalled.

Several council members and residents pressed staff on whether charging a new buyer the full fee is fair when the physical tap remains in the ground. Water operations staff explained that historically the city has counted taps in the ground against the allowed number of services on a line; leaving a tap in the ground can prevent the city from reallocating capacity elsewhere without pulling the tap. A city representative said an engineer for a previous administration suggested the city does not always need to remove the physical tap, which created tension between operational practice and the current fee structure.

Council asked staff to bring the matter back to a regular meeting with the city’s engineer present so members could hear technical clarification about how taps and meter counts are calculated, and what portion of the current fee represents avoidable labor versus sunk costs. Council also asked the water department to return with sample repair/reinstallation cost figures and recommended a middle-ground fee if the tap is physically present and service pressure is adequate.

No ordinance or fee change was adopted. Council voted to table the item and directed staff to present engineering guidance and proposed fee options at the next regular meeting.

What’s next: The council will consider a revised policy after staff consults with the city engineer and provides cost estimates and recommended language for ordinance or fee schedule modifications.