Story posted Friday, March 12, 2010
Water Bill 'Whoa'
Resident Socked With Extra Cost Due To Faulty City Meter
By TOM ROBB Journal & Topics Reporter
A Des Plaines resident living on Stockton Avenue was shocked to see his water and sewer bill jump from $150 due in December to $735 due last month.
City officials said they found an external water meter outside the resident's home had been "running slow" for some time. The increased charge was meant to collect the money due, not only for the last two months billing period, but also for the entire period the city says the meter was running slow.
After a meeting last month between the resident, who did not want to be identified in this article, Mayor Marty Moylan and Ald. Mark Walsten (6th), the homeowner was put on a payment plan so he would not be forced to pay off the $735 all at once.
The homeowner was not the only Des Plaines resident to experience water bill sticker shock recently. Acting City Manager Jason Slowinski said 29 people were put on payment plans because of faulty meters in 2009 owing $21,500. Currently, 19 residents are on payment plans owing a total of $9,000.
Des Plaines installs external meters connected by a wire to the primary water meter typically found in the basement of most homes so meter readers can collect a reading without having to enter the house.
Moylan said the meter in the basement is "the one that counts" and said the full amount of the bill needs to be paid even if the external meter is faulty.
"This is B.S.," said Walsten describing his thoughts on the resolution of last month's meeting.
He said the faulty equipment is the city's responsibility and said residents should not have to be confronted with these kinds of situations when they have acted responsibly and have no way of knowing the meter equipment was faulty.
Moylan said water bills need to be paid and said it would be unfair to place that burden on other taxpayers because the external meters malfunctioned.
There are numerous reasons an electronic external meter might malfunction to cause an inaccurate reading including water, bugs or other external conditions, Moylan and Slowinski said.
Moylan said the city is in the process of looking for new external meter systems.
Walsten said new metering systems exist that allow readers to collect data remotely from sensors as they drive past homes. This system is currently in use in nearby Glenview.
Des Plaines has no regular inspection program for the external meters, according to Slowinski, but attempts to replace them on a regular basis once every 20 years or so or when they become aware of a problem.
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