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Select Board, acting as water commissioners, approves one abatement and orders further review of high bills
Summary
Water and Sewer Commissioners approved an administrative abatement for a billing error at 54 West Street, declined to recommend abatement for a separate high-usage account, and heard detailed resident testimony about a large cumulative bill linked by residents to meter/radio errors; the board requested full billing data and a future agenda item to examine meter and radio accuracy.
Mark Cloud, the town's Water and Sewer superintendent, told commissioners that a final reading error produced a $42,239 bill for the 54 West Street account; recomputing the reading produced a corrected charge of $892.02 and staff recommended an administrative abatement. Commissioners moved to approve an abatement in the amount of $42,239.88 plus a $25 late fee and approved it unanimously.
Commissioners reviewed two other accounts. For 56 Bay Road staff found no meter error and recommended denial of abatement; the owner of 566 Bay Road (Rebecca Marani) described cumulative bills that reached roughly $5,000 and said meter replacement in December 2025 reduced usage back to normal. Another resident described a long-running anomaly (meter readings that recorded zero for extended periods, then a radio replacement that produced a multi-year back-bill). Board members pressed staff for copies of historic bills, payment receipts and meter-replacement dates and requested a future agenda item to present a data table and visual usage charts so the board can determine whether meter, radio or software problems exist elsewhere.
