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Commission amends water policy language and orders broader review of disconnection rules
Summary
After hours of discussion on meter removal, notification and reconnection fees, the commission amended Ordinance 12‑92 to replace 'meter' with 'water service' in a provision about leaving service in the ground, approved first reading of the amended ordinance, and asked staff for a focused work session to address remaining fairness and SDC issues.
Commissioners debated changes to the city water policy (Ordinance 12‑92) for over an hour, focusing on how the city handles delinquent accounts, forced disconnections, the cost to remove water service (~$2,500 in staff estimates), distinctions between pulling a meter and leaving the service in place, and whether property owners should receive written notice before forced disconnection. Finance and utility staff explained current practices—letters, door hangers and potential lien processes—while commissioners pushed for clearer notice provisions and equitable treatment when reconnection occurs.
The commission approved an amendment to replace the phrase "may choose to leave the meter in the ground" with "may choose to leave the water service in the ground" and conducted a first reading of the amended Ordinance 12‑92 by title. Kevin Gorman, the newly introduced public works director, said he would like to review disconnection practices in more depth: "I'd say safely 6 months, but it was something that I wanted to look into in the next 3 months," Gorman said. Commissioners also directed staff to schedule a work session to examine a set of six problem scenarios and return with proposed language and implementation details.
