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Chairman Walker defends averaging high rental water bill; board member says move conflicts with policy
Summary
Board members debated how to handle repeated high initial water bills at a rental property. City Clerk Cindy J. Cooper said meter readers found a leak and the resident agreed to an averaging contract; Chairman Tommy Ray Walker said he "made a judgment call" to average bills while Chuck Nelms said the policy requires council action and called the decision "not legal."
At the March 18 meeting of the Krebs Utilities Authority, board members discussed repeated high initial water bills at a rental property and whether staff had authority to average the charges. The exchange highlighted a difference between an operational judgment by the chairman and a board member’s assertion that the board’s written policy must be followed.
David Bailey raised the matter, referring to an earlier incident involving another party. City Clerk Cindy J. Cooper said meter readers had observed unusually high first-month bills and that the property owner had a leak. Cooper said the tenant "did have a leak and he is aware of it so he'll have to pay that," and that staff "had him sign a contract that we would average that, and in three or four months, whatever his average is then he may owe more or he may owe less depending on that leak." (Cindy J. Cooper)
Board member Chuck Nelms objected to the averaging approach, saying "that’s not what our policy says" and later calling the course of action "not legal." Nelms argued changes to billing practice should be brought to the city council, saying the council previously voted on a policy tied to a 20% threshold.
Chairman Tommy Ray Walker responded that staff and the board were unclear where water was going and defended making an on-the-spot judgment: "So, I made a judgment call and like David said, it's me." Walker said the utility would continue to monitor usage and that the tenant would be responsible for the leak once an average was established.
The transcript records disagreement but not a formal motion to change the billing policy; no action to alter the written policy was taken at the meeting. The exchange concluded as the board moved on and later adjourned after routine approvals.
The discussion underscores a local governance question about when staff or an individual board officer may depart from written policy and when such matters must be escalated to the council for a formal policy decision.
