Claypool Council Refunds Resident's Wastewater Payment
Posted
Jordan Fouts-
CLAYPOOL – Council approved a $50 wastewater credit Monday as partial relief for a Walnut Street resident whose water bill jumped because of a hose left running. Bonnie Stewart requested the credit after seeing her bill jump to $400 about three months ago. She paid the bill in full, and said the spike was due to one of her kids leaving the hose running outside. She attended the meeting Monday after council postponed the issue last month, saying they wanted her to answer some questions first. Stewart argued to council that the lost water didn’t run through the sewer, so she was requesting a refund of the $51.45 she paid. “I paid for something I didn’t use,” Stewart said. She also pointed out that the town gives credit for residents who fill their pool in summer since the water doesn’t go into the sewer system. Council President Niki Miller opposed the refund, saying the extra water use was due to negligence rather than a leak and that it could not be satisfactorily proven that the water didn’t go into the sewer. Also Monday, council voted to allow Police Chief Lou Mediano to pay for repairs to the reserve car in-car camera and restriping of the vehicle, using money from the auction of an old vehicle. He said the force will have a full staff of reserve officers by the end of the month and so the vehicle will be in use. And council heard from Clerk-Treasurer Connie Morgan that a 2013 utility rate ordinance goes into effect Jan. 1, beginning an annual 2 percent increase; and that rates for trash pickup customers who own large bins will go up.
