Lafayette working on replacement water bills

Lafayette city staff members are recalculating water bills for city residents following the city council’s Sept. 14 decision to roll back a recent increase and add two surcharges.

 “This will take some time to complete; it is not as simple as clicking the ‘undo’ button,” said Branden Dross, city administrator.

 He asked residents for patience while the city follows steps in order to comply with fiscal responsibilities. It must ensure there’s a  clear audit trail of account charges and payments received prior to the council’s decision. 

 The city also is working out credits for accounts that already have been paid.

 In addition, Dross said, the city will be testing a sampling of water meters in different areas of the city. 

Citizens told the council at its business meeting and at a town hall a week earlier that they have been billed for much larger amounts of water than they believe they’ve used. The council asked city staff to investigate the meters and metering software.

 The town hall and council discussion followed numerous complaints from residents after they received water bills for August. Many said new rates caused their bills to jump by hundreds of percent, and that they didn’t believe the amount of water recorded by their meters.

 The city council voted 3-1 to roll back the rates. It also added the two surcharges, one for $15 a month for debt payments and another for $5 a month for ongoing maintenance, a total of $20.

 Lafayette water users can follow the process on the city’s website with the “Our Lafayette” app, which can be downloaded from the Apple and Google stores. For more information, call city hall, at 503-864-2451.