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County asks Waynesville to forgive nearly $9,000 water bill after undetected break; village refers matter to public works
Summary
At the July 15 Waynesville finance meeting, a county request to forgive a roughly $8,000–$9,000 bill tied to an undetected two-week water break that used nearly 2 million gallons was discussed; officials referred the issue to the public works department and asked the county to cover at least the cost of water.
At the Waynesville finance meeting on July 15, 2024, a county request that the village forgive a roughly $8,000–$9,000 bill tied to an undetected water break was discussed.
Zach Gallagher, listed among the meeting’s guests, said the break ran for about two weeks and amounted to almost 2,000,000 gallons of water. Jamie Morley told the committee the village should at least require the county to pay the raw cost of the water rather than absorb the loss. Connie Miller suggested the discussion continue in the public works forum so technical details and responsibility could be resolved.
Troy Lauffer pressed for perspective on usage, asking whether any portion of the 2,000,000 gallons would reflect normal summer consumption. Jamie Morley said the county’s summer usage averages about 600,000 gallons per month, noting that some of the water counted in the bill could reflect typical seasonal use. The finance committee did not vote on forgiveness; members agreed to move the issue to public works for further review and urged the county representative, who is expected at the August meeting, to provide details.
Why it matters: forgiving the bill would reduce village revenue or reserves and set a precedent for future undetected-loss claims; confirming how much water was excess versus normal usage affects who bears the cost.
What’s next: the committee referred the request to the public works department for follow-up and expects a Warren County representative to attend the village’s August meeting to discuss the incident and any proposed settlement or adjustment.
Provenance: Topic first appears when Zach Gallagher raised the county’s letter and usage estimates (SEG 013) and the committee’s referral and related planning were recorded later in the same exchange and the August attendance note (SEG 013–SEG 014).
