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Residents and council agree to payment plan after faulty water meter reading
Summary
Kyle and Abby Simonsen told the Lyons City Council a faulty ERT caused inaccurate meter readings and large back charges; the council asked Clerk Whitney Anderson to work with the Simonsens on a payment plan and directed staff to improve faulty-ERT detection.
Residents Kyle and Abby Simonsen raised a billing dispute at the Dec. 10 Lyons City Council meeting, saying a faulty encoder receiver transmitter (ERT) caused their water meter to read incorrectly and resulted in significant back charges.
The council directed City Clerk Whitney Anderson to collaborate with the Simonsens on a payment plan covering a negotiated percentage of the disputed usage. Council members also asked staff to review and improve internal processes to detect faulty ERTs earlier to avoid similar billing issues in the future.
Why it matters: the decision affects both the household involved and municipal billing practices; resolving large retroactive charges through a payment plan provides immediate relief to the residents while the city develops process improvements to reduce future billing errors.
The minutes record no formal vote on the precise percentage or schedule; the council’s direction was to have the clerk and the residents work out a plan and report back as needed.
