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Residents tell Cedar Hill council of high water bills, ask about surveillance-camera data
Summary
During public comment residents described an expensive water leak that left one household with a bill the speaker said exceeded $2,000 and asked for follow-up; another resident requested information about city surveillance-camera data access and retention.
Several residents used the city’s citizen forum to raise consumer and privacy concerns, and the council offered staff follow-up.
Tashanda Hall, who gave her address as 1419 Hovig in High Point, told the council she discovered a leak at her home after receiving a city notice and said the household had to remove a tree and hire a plumber. Hall said contractor bids she received ranged from about $5,000 to $10,000 and that her water bill exceeded $2,000. "The lowest was, like, 5,000," she said, and "when I got the water bill, the water bill was over $2,000." She said the utility applied only a 50% adjustment and that staff told her she needed roughly $800 to get onto a payment plan; she said she has been making monthly payments and that the city warned the water could be cut off without an adequate down payment.
The presiding official told Hall staff could follow up and asked when she would be available for a call; Hall provided a preferred time of about 3:30 p.m., and the official said an officer or staff member would contact her to discuss options.
Earlier in the public forum, resident Baba Alvarez (201 South Clark Road) asked detailed questions about the city’s surveillance cameras: what the cameras capture, how long data are retained and who has access. The presiding official suggested Alvarez speak with an officer after the meeting and offered to provide literature or follow-up contact information.
Philip Lemelich also spoke during the forum but focused on support for the Lights Out proclamation and concerns about yard debris being blown into streets and storm drains; he urged staff to review sweeping and collection guidance.
No formal council action on utility adjustments or surveillance policy was taken at the meeting; in each case staff offered to follow up directly with the speakers.
