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Customer dispute over a $4,200 bill leads Middletown authority to approve goodwill credit
Summary
A resident raised questions about a regenerated high bill and missing meter documentation; staff explained meter-replacement and credit procedures and the board voted to apply a goodwill adjustment to clear the account.
Marla (identified during public comment) raised a billing dispute involving a new $4,200 bill for an account at 9 Franklin Street and said she had not received documentation of a work order or the meter reading that generated the charge.
Marla asked why regenerated historical bills all displayed the same per-unit rate going back to 2019 and said she had requested a breakdown from staff. “If you’re regenerating, like, an old bill… it won’t have that information for the old rates,” staff replied, citing a software limitation that shows current rates when older bills are regenerated.
Staff described the authority’s practice when a meter problem is identified: the field unit replaces a defective meter, a final actual reading is taken from the meter when possible, and a goodwill (billing) adjustment can be calculated. The staff presented a sample letter and an example adjustment: a water credit of $613.48, a sewer credit of $1,313.04 and a goodwill adjustment entry in a sample calculation.
Following the discussion, a board member moved to apply a goodwill adjustment to clear the customer’s outstanding balance; the motion was seconded and the chair called for the ayes. The board approved the adjustment and staff said the next bill would reflect the change and they would provide the resident follow-up documentation.
Board members also discussed applying similar adjustments consistently to other accounts where the same estimation errors occurred and later approved waiving balances in similar cases (268 Bridal Road and another account) by motion.
