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Council agrees to offer voluntary service-line protection; leak-adjustment option deferred
Summary
Monmouth council agreed to make a voluntary, no‑cost-to-city service-line protection program (water and sewer external line coverage) available to residents through HomeServe/National League of Cities; leak-adjustment/on-bill options were discussed but deferred for later consideration.
The Monmouth City Council on Nov. 4 directed staff to make available a voluntary service-line protection program for residents offered by HomeServe through the National League of Cities partnership, while deferring a related municipal leak-adjustment (on‑bill) program for further review.
Dennis Lyon of HomeServe described two voluntary products that residents may enroll in directly: external water-line protection (repairs up to $8,500 per incident) and external sewer-line protection (same limits), with no annual/lifetime caps or deductibles and a 30-day waiting period after enrollment. He said HomeServe uses a pre‑vetted network of local licensed contractors, operates a 24/7 claims center and guarantees repairs.
Sample premiums presented to council were about $8.49 per month for water-line protection and $11.49 per month for sewer-line protection; if the city elects an optional 10 percent non-tax revenue share, those premiums would increase by $0.50. Councilors indicated they did not want to increase premiums for the revenue share and preferred to offer the product without the additional charge.
A separate leak-protection product would cover a customer’s excess water bill (limits of $500, $1,000 or $2,500 were discussed) if the customer repairs the leak and provides documentation; that product can be structured as an on-bill, opt‑out program requiring billing system integration. Councilors expressed interest and concerns about outreach, opt‑out clarity and smart‑metering limits (Monmouth meters are read monthly), and decided to defer decision on the leak-adjustment/on-bill program while adopting the direct-bill voluntary service-line protections.
City staff said the program carries no upfront cost to the city for marketing or administration; HomeServe handles marketing (direct mail), customer service and contractor vetting. Staff will work with HomeServe to finalize an agreement and communications materials before rollout.
Quote: Councilor Lopez, describing a personal experience of an uncovered water-line break, said the program would have been helpful: “It was definitely made for a tough month.”
Next steps: Staff will finalize the HomeServe agreement and review communications materials for approval prior to any mailings. The leak-adjustment product may be reconsidered later pending more analysis of billing-system implementation and opt-out protections.
