Council reviews garbage‑can shortage, billing discrepancy and a high water meter reading affecting a resident

Town Clerk Madi Smith told the Cornish Town Council on March 18 that several residents have requested new garbage cans; she will contact Olena at Rotational Molding to see whether remaining cans can be cleaned of names and sold to the town at a discount. Councilmember Christopher Buxton said he will obtain exact account lists so Clerk Smith can correct billing entries where residents are not being charged landfill fees.

Why it matters: The town is being billed for more garbage cans and landfill fees than it is collecting from residents, creating an administrative and budgetary mismatch that the council said needs to be corrected before the town completes its transition to gWorks billing.

Water issue: Councilmember Brad Fisher reported a fire hydrant leak in front of Sammy (Sam) Owen’s home and said he did not know who would be responsible for paying the repair bill; Councilmember Creech suggested the homeowner and Bracken should settle the charge. Fisher also reported an unusually high meter reading at Sammy Owen’s residence and said he and Jay will replace the automated reader with an older reader to check whether the meter or the reader is causing the discrepancy. Clerk Madi Smith said the account has not yet been paid and that billing will be determined after end‑of‑month readings.

What’s next: Buxton will identify accounts not being charged landfill fees and provide that information to Clerk Smith; staff will perform the meter reader swap and re‑read meters at the end of March to determine appropriate billing for the Owen account.