Resident raises high water-bill concerns; city says meter timing and billing cycle caused spike

Clyde Macklemore told the Zion City Council at its Feb. 3 meeting that his household water bill rose from $250 to $327 with three people living in the home, and urged the council to investigate the cause and whether the city can buy water directly from Waukegan to reduce rates.

"My bill went from $250 to $327 with only 3 people living in my house," Macklemore said, and asked whether the city’s purchases from the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency (JAWA) might be contributing to higher customer charges.

Director Ransom, speaking for city operations, said the city is not purchasing water from JAWA as a regular supplier and that the recent spike was caused by a meter-reading system crash that led to an extended billing period. "We do purchase water from Lake County Public Water District," Ransom said, and added that Zion’s only interaction with JAWA has been monthly total coliform sampling and emergency boil-order sampling. He told the council that the city began a corrected reading cycle on Feb. 1 and that shorter billing intervals will reduce billed amounts for that period and balance out later.

Commissioner Fisher, who previously served on the Lake County Public Water District board, urged residents to consider the technical cause rather than assuming foul play. Fisher noted the district has a long-term contract with the city and said the higher charge reflected a longer metering period rather than a rate increase.

The exchange left the council with a direction to make billing information available and to take individual questions after the meeting; Ransom offered to provide more detailed meter and billing reports to any resident with specific concerns.

Next steps: staff said billing cycles and meter-read reports will be available as they reconcile the system and that residents with disputed charges may follow up with the utility-billing office.