Local business owner presses council over years of water-billing errors; council orders $50 reconnect credit

Scott Morris, who said he runs SunPower Off Road, told the council he has experienced recurring, inflated water bills dating back several years and that a later audit produced roughly $5,600 in credits for past errors. "I paid everything I owed, and they turned it back on," Morris said as he described being shut off and having to pay a reconnect fee after believing his account was current.

Accounting staff acknowledged prior mistakes including a misplaced decimal that produced erroneous usage figures and said the town had audited the account and issued credits when the error was identified. Staff also noted that reconnect/disconnect fees are added to accounts once dispatch occurs under current ordinance practice. Council members said they understood Morris’s frustration and moved to authorize the clerk to identify a compliant way to issue a $50 credit to address at least one reconnect fee for the affected accounts while preserving audit trail requirements. The motion was seconded and carried by consensus.

Council did not change the ordinance language during the meeting but asked staff to document the corrective action and the accounting entries so the town board of accounts will accept the adjustment during future audits. The clerk also explained sanitation charges and residential-trash rules that had contributed to the contested bills and said staff removed improper sanitation charges where applicable.