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Show By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL - Two Bountiful Boun-tiful residents who saw their culinary water bill "shoot sky high" for no apparent reason "ere given leniency by the city council. ONE CASE involved Gerald Paulsen who told the council fat his meter reading for the wo1 of September registered 115,000 gallons - 100,000 PUons more than his monthly average. City water department personnel per-sonnel replaced the meter and Marched for leaks. Water was to turned off for two days (luring which time there was " reading on the meter. BUT WHEN water was turned on, the meter spun like a 'runaway roulette wheel." Mr. Paulsen said no water was left running, there were "o leaks to be found anywhere, and he never used water for outside watering. water-ing. HE TOLD the council that ' Word 115,000 gallons, "ater would have to be turned n full pressure at 7,200 8s ns per day for 16 days. "ayor Elmer W. Barlow I?"1 "e thinks the meter "Ppedover 100,000 gallons" ' u hs average was 15,000 ns a month and the September Sep-tember registered 115,000 gallons. COUNCIL agreed and w. Paulsen would have 10 W only for 15,000 gallons not the $62 monthly bill he " received from the city. anr,ry. C- Tl"gey then PProached the council and I iy that he had JIVM a monthly utility bill Jtod for $164.99 Jjust "ater tiseage. "I COULD have flipped when I saw that," said Mr. Tingey. The billing was an estimate taken from the meter reading for water used during the winter months. But the 400 000 gallons would have represented about 100,000 per month for the four-month period. "THIS COMPARES to about 7,500 gallons per month average use," he told the rnnncil. "Water department personnel searched and found no leaks and gave no explanation for the extreme high meter reading." He also advised the council that for the past 27 months he has been paying "double occupancy" oc-cupancy" for his water when he has been the lone occupant of the home. HE SAID an apartment in the home has not been occupied oc-cupied since his parents passed away, but the water billing has been the same. City Recorder Arden Jen-son Jen-son said city officials have no way of knowing if an apartment apart-ment is still being occupied unless they (city personnel) make a personal check. "MAYBE WE should just scrap this part of the ordinance or-dinance if we can't substantiate substan-tiate it," said the city recorder. The city council agreed to drop the winter water charges for Mr. Tingey to 7,000 gallons per month and make an adjustment ad-justment based on a monthly average of the past 27 months of apparent overcharge. "THESE ARE extreme cases and we will hear such cases on an individual basis, but residents shouldn't get the idea that the council will amend all utility bills that residents feel are a little too high," the mayor emphasized. |
