Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utility Billing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mount Vernon resident says duplex was double-billed; commission points to metering policy and a possible rental registry
Summary
Resident Mike Hillier told the Mount Vernon Utilities Commission his rental unit has been charged a second minimum on the same meter and asked to be billed for actual water use; the commission said current policy charges a minimum per unit and recommended pursuing a rental-property registry and further staff review.
Mike Hillier, a Mount Vernon resident who said he lives at 215 East Sugar Street, told the Utilities Commission that his rental unit at 217 has been “double charged” despite using less water than his house. “That was for my house and for the rental at 217,” Hillier said, presenting a recent bill and asking the commission to correct future bills so the rental is charged only for the water that passes through the single meter serving the property.
Hillier described buying and renovating the property in 2005 and said the upstairs tenant has occupied the unit for five years. He told commissioners that his rental account shows a higher minimum charge (he cited an example of $115.56 on the rental and $60.78 on his house) and warned that the proposed rate increases would further raise costs for landlords and tenants.
Commission Chair responded that the city’s billing approach combines a flat minimum charge and usage on each account, and that properties recognized as multiunit (a duplex) receive an additional minimum charge to reflect the presence of multiple units. “There is no mechanism, I believe, for this commission… to determine… there is and there isn’t,” the chair said, explaining the commission lacks a simple way to verify interior unit counts without a formal registry or code-enforcement process.
Staff and commissioners said separate meters for each unit are the equitable technical solution where practical, but acknowledged barriers: no existing rental-property registry, privacy and access constraints, and the administrative work needed to change the billing philosophy. Staff described variability in how multiunit properties are metered across the city — some complexes are master-metered, others are individually metered — and said any change to how costs are allocated would require a larger review and likely new staff analysis.
The commission urged Hillier to work with staff on registration and public input as the city considers a rental-property registry to protect both owner and tenant interests. The chair said staff are prepared to accept public input and that a more fully formed process for evaluating metering and billing would require additional study. Hillier also requested verbatim minutes as a backup to the posted video; staff noted statute requires summary minutes but said recordings and minutes are available.
Next steps: staff indicated the registry concept and metering policy would be examined further and that Hillier and other residents could provide input to staff for follow-up.
