Water Authority talks commercial rates

Published 2:10 pm Monday, October 25, 2010

Jan Black and Joe McCranney listen as Wesley Bass disccuses the questions he has recevied from the multi-user warning letter. (Advocate Photo/Austin Nelson)

A letter addressing multi-user accounts was a chief topic of discussion at Monday’s Butler County Water Authority meeting.

Wesley Bass, with Artesian Utilities, said the letter was mailed out to citizens last Wednesday.

“It’s still to early to tell if a lot of people are going to come forward,” Bass said. “But we are getting a lot of calls with people asking questions, some of which still need to be addressed.”

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One question that has arose has been what determines whether a user can be billed under a commercial rate, Bass said. Trailer parks receive a commercial rate and only utilize one meter. However, some groups of homeowners are currently doing the same thing, by hooking up multiple houses to one meter and calling it commercial.

Bass says the board attorney will be working on coming up with a definition of who is eligible for commercial rates. Once this is determined, Bass said, commercial users may or may not need to provide  additional deposit money to meet the more expensive commercial deposit. Some commerical customers may be required to purchase their own meters to be billed as a single residence.

The board elected to move the disconnect date for November to Nov. 22, which will give customers an opportunity to get their water reconnected before the Thanksgiving holiday. Patrons will have until Nov. 24 to clear up their bills before the office closes.

Other business discussed:

-Minutes from Sept. 27 were approved.

-Write-offs were approved.

-Artesian Utility Operations bill was paid.

-September financial reports were approved