By Starla Pointer • Staff Writer • 

Lafayette residents shocked by high water bills

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Comments

SCALEPERSON

Who could afford those high bills? I sure hope that they get some legal help to solve this if the city doesn't resolve this. With the cost of living being at an all time high...this is not acceptable. I hope it is just an error, and not something else....

tagup

Test the meters &review the billing calculations for those that request it…. This should be an easy mystery to solve. Accusations of “corruption “ are silly.

mikes

Great reporting Starla. Another reason a local newspaper The News Register is important for our community. Since some residents did not see the huge increases meters checks, possible leeks, and just billing mistakes are likely. I am surprised they did not already have a teared usage billing system. Infrastructure is expensive and it is nice to have water.

Angela Flood

Mikes
We did already have a tiered usage billing system. Each level was increased 300% to 400% on top of an increased base rate. We also seem to be struggling with accurate measurements. Testimony made states we may have different models of meters that calculate in different units and this was not caught in the new software.
The budget that passed with these rates did not match the actual.
Reconciliation reports were not run.
No other options were brought by council. Four different versions of the rates were mailed/presented to residents before the final rates were passed.
No cost cutting was presented either.
They created and allowed this drama through inconsistent communication and poor mathing. And now they want the credit for coming in after the fact with a deal that works for them.
We have had two council members resign in the last week. There are more that need to go.

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