OILTON — Vice Mayor Julia Bagwell has raised concern regarding water billing irregularities and called for a temporary suspension of late fees on residential water bills claiming meters are not being read regularly. The supervisor for Oilton Public Works Authority (OPWA) responded by explaining the meter reading process and giving possible reasons for irregularities.
“Either we're reading your meter or we're psychic and if I was psychic, I would have the lottery numbers,” said OPWA Supervisor Brice Wilson.
Bagwell has been active on social media stating many residents have received estimated bills for multiple months followed by large “catch-up” bills once actual usage is recorded. According to her, this system results in financial burden to residents leading to her formally requesting the issue be placed on the August 12 OPWA meeting agenda.
“Residents are billed for just 1,000 to 2,000 gallons a month while their actual usage — sometimes tens of thousands of gallons — isn’t reflected until much later. That’s not fair to anyone trying to budget their household utilities,” said Bagwell.
As an example, Bagwell cited her own bill and usage claiming her water meter was not accurately read the month she filled a 9,000-gallon pool — her bill reflected only 4,000 gallons of usage followed by a significantly higher bill the next month.
Wilson confirmed estimates are done for a number of reasons including when meter numbers are obstructed. Wilson said in such cases the city clerk inputs information into a computer program that estimates water usage based on past data with adjustments being made once actual readings resume.
“We do estimate sometimes, in January we estimated the water. We got that snow and it was real cold; the meters were frozen shut,” he said. “It’s sometimes hard to see the numbers.”
However, he adamantly opposed claims that meters were not being read each month and said that any delays or discrepancies are explainable.
“We read every meter each month,” he said. “The number one form of proof that we’re reading is on your utility bill — when you receive your utility bill if you go out to your meter and you look at your meter it could have gone up a little bit because by the time you get your bill, it could have been a couple weeks since we read your meter — but it's gonna be in the ballpark.”
Regarding Bagwell’s specific case, Wilson said her meter was read and she was billed for 10,000 gallons on June 1. He also said city workers noted the high usage and flagged it, a standard practice when readings exceed 10,000 gallons.
“I tell my guys if somebody uses 10,000 gallons or more that’s a red flag,” he said. “We make a note of major changes — it doesn’t just end there — we try to get ahold of the person, we check for a leak. . . We try to help them out, we don’t have to do that but we do it. We try to figure it out. We try to go above and beyond.”
Wilson acknowledged mistakes can be made but are rare and typically caught during billing reviews before bills are finalized. Wilson also addressed the issue of dirt or debris in meter boxes, saying it's a common and unavoidable part of fieldwork.
“There’s dirt and there's roots, and there's snakes, and there's frogs, and there's scorpions, and there's black widows and you name it. There's moles and there's gophers. We can dig out to where we can read the meter and the next day there could be a gopher filled the hole to the top,” said Wilson. “We have seven meter books with almost 500 meters. We have two guys and we have five days to read them all so that the city clerk can get the billing done by the first.… We do the cemetery — all the mowing, we take care of the roads…We don’t have time to clean all the dirt out of the can.”
With meters read midmonth and bills mailed on the first of each month there is about a two-week lag between readings and billing which can garner confusion, according to Wilson.
Bagwell maintains that residents deserve clearer billing practice, more transparency, and fair dispute options calling for improvements to include monthly meter reading documentation, clear dispute forms and procedures, public education on billing timelines and meter reading, and consideration of electronic meter technology.
Wilson countered the claims of lack of meter reading documentation by saying there are meter books and bills reflecting readings. Beyond that, he said the OPWA vehicles have GPS trackers and people watching that proves workers are checking meters.
“People see us, it’s a small town, people know what I’m doing when I’m reading the meters,” he said.
As for the call to consider electronic meter technology, Wilson said such a change would just have different problems to address.
“A lot of towns have electronic meters but they have their own set of issues,” he said.
On Monday, August 11 Wilson made his intent to inform the public of the discrepancies and address concerns at the August 12 meeting clear.
“I take it seriously, I am here to try to help the town,” he said. “It’s been 10 degrees and I’ve been out all night turning people’s gas back on and lighting their pilots. We had a well go down and I spent 14-days waking up every two hours in the night to go check the pressure to make sure the well was running. . . I’m on call basically 24/7 without pay. I think I’ve gone above and beyond the job and I live in the community, I have family in the community. I have friends in the community. I try to do everything correct and try to help people out as best I can.”
He said he is open to more transparency and welcomes the upcoming meeting to provide more understanding about the meter reading process and possible discrepancies.
Results of the meeting held on August 12 will be available in a later publication.