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City manager: Portales will pull and test meters when residents dispute large water charges
Summary
City Manager Scottman explained the city's process for disputed high water bills, including pulling meters for manufacturer testing and that customers are responsible for charges if testing shows the meter worked correctly; staff said verified meter errors have been rare.
City Manager Scottman explained how the city's automatic meter reading (AMR) system records usage and described the process for residents who dispute unusually large bills.
Scottman said AMR provides minute‑by‑minute data and can show constant usage that residents may not expect. He described a recent case a resident who told staff it was impossible to have used 41,000 gallons; staff reviewed the AMR record and found sprinkler schedules inconsistent with the resident's expectation. "If you absolutely, 100% believe in your heart of hearts that this recording system and your meter are wrong, we will pull it," Scottman said. "We will put a new meter in place. We will send the old meter to the manufacturer." He added that if a tested meter is found to be functioning correctly the resident would be responsible for the bill; "if that meter is found to be bad, then we will eat the $800," he said.
Scottman said to date no pulled meters have been found to be incorrect in recent checks and staff identified about three manual‑reading errors over the prior two months across roughly 5,600 connections. He said the city is willing to replace and test meters but cannot absorb the cost of every customer-initiated test without limitation. Council members and staff discussed the tradeoffs of meter‑pull costs and how customers can verify usage in real time.
The advisory board did not vote on a formal change to the dispute policy; staff said they will continue to follow the current process and provide follow-up guidance to customers about how to document and test suspected leaks.
