Council hears resident complaints after months of averaged water meters; executive session on staff discipline

The chair opened a meeting to address a months-long problem in the city’s water billing system, saying staff had been averaging meter readings rather than reading meters and that the practice produced unexpectedly large bills for some customers. "There will be no more averaging meters unless I sign off on it," the chair said, adding that some meters are unreadable or physically damaged and that the city is replacing meters.

Officials said a billing printout provided by a staff member identified 107 accounts flagged for unusually high usage — described in discussion as roughly $10 or more above normal on average, with many accounts showing overcharges of about $20–$50 and isolated spikes much larger. "We're working with those people when they call; we're putting them on the list now," the chair said, describing a plan to review histories and return bills to typical levels where appropriate.

Several residents described examples they said illustrate the problem, including an account they reported as continuing to be billed after a meter was removed in April. Officials acknowledged customers on automatic payment plans may have continued to pay until the error is corrected and urged affected customers to contact the city for reconciliation. Residents repeatedly requested the list of flagged accounts and a six-month history of new meters and readings; officials said compiling those reports will take time.

Staffing and technical issues figured in the discussion. Meeting participants said the billing entry process depends heavily on one staff member identified in the transcript as Christie; the chair and others noted that reliance on a single person complicated coverage when she was out of the office. The transcript records Christie’s work schedule discussed as "8 to 4 with an hour lunch." The chair and others also described failures in some older digital "badger" meters (examples included meters reporting repeated digits or not reading at all) as a reason for replacing meters.

Officials said the billing system can flag accounts that show unusually high usage before bills are mailed, but council members and residents said the city did not notify customers in advance that bills might be excessive. The chair said disciplinary action has been taken against staff and expressed confidence the issue would not recur; details of the disciplinary actions were not specified in the transcript.

Near the end of the meeting, council members passed a motion to go into executive session to discuss personnel/disciplinary matters; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote (the transcript does not record who moved or seconded the motion, nor an exact vote tally). After returning from executive session, the chair asked affected residents to provide contact information so city staff can resolve individual accounts and said the issues would be addressed. The meeting adjourned following a voice vote.