FL - Residents Upset at High Bills

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BARTOW -- A handful of residents from the Gordonville and Gordon Heights communities northeast of Bartow turned to the City Commission on Monday night to seek relief for high water and sewer bills.

"I got an $85 bill from the city," said Gordonville resident Earnestine Davis. "Then I got a $95 bill, and before that one was due, I got a $75 water bill. I don't have a leak in my line. I don't know whether someone misread the meter or it's a computer error, but there's something wrong somewhere."

Davis, who lives alone, said she's gone much of the day and doesn't understand why her combined water and sewer bill is so high. She said many of her neighbors report similar problems.

Residents have been meeting informally for the last couple of weeks to discuss their utility bill issues, said Davis, spokeswoman for the group.

The average combined monthly bill for water and sewer service to noncity residents using 10,000 gallons of water monthly totals about $71.

Commissioners directed city officials to work with Davis and her neighbors to find out if there's a problem.

"We are concerned about your utility bills," said Commissioner Leo Longworth, "but the rates are the rates. We can't do anything about that. What we can do is try to understand what the problem is."

Longworth said he's looked at some of the questionable bills that show consumptions totaling 17,000 gallons and higher.

"Something is going on," he said, "but meters, if anything, read less than what's used. They won't read more."

Longworth said he could assure those residents that the commissioners are listening.

"I can't assure you that every one of you will be satisfied with what you hear, but we will listen to you," he said.

Commissioner Pat Crisman said she, too, sympathized with the residents' concerns.

"I know how high my bills get in the summer," she said.

Crisman explained that the city has installed new water meters on all the homes in those neighboring communities, which may have led to more accurate consumption totals.

"The older meters may have run slow when they needed to be replaced," she said. "When we put in a new one, the reading is going to be higher."

Davis said she wants the city to do something. "There's a problem," she said. "This is why the other citizens are here, because they are having problems, too."

The Ledger

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2002


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