HOUSTON, Texas – The nine water bill ordinances, which were supposed to bring some relief to Houstonians struggling with high water bills, may not pass during Wednesday’s city council meeting, according to KPRC 2 Investigator Amy Davis.
The nine new proposals address the ongoing billing problem caused by the city’s water system. On Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. city councilmembers are set to vote on the ordinances, which they say they only received Tuesday evening. Council members are usually given more time to review agenda items before a vote.
Weeks before his term is set to end, Mayor Sylvester Turner is determined to push through the ordinances. Much of the push comes from KPRC 2′s extensive ‘DRAINED” coverage and concerns from customers and council members.
In November, we reported on council members Amy Peck, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz and Mary Nan Huffman collectively adding the water bill issues to the city council’s agenda when it seemed Mayor Turner was not addressing the issue. A few hours after they placed it on the agenda, the Mayor came out with a statement saying he was going to propose changes. So, that original item proposed by the three council members is still on the agenda.
If the ordinances pass, it makes their proposal a moot point. Council member Peck told Amy Davis she doesn’t care whose passes, as long as customers get help with their water bills. Other council members may be questioning why the Mayor was so quick to come up with these changes instead of answering some of the bigger questions.
[Questions like: If the outdated meter reading sensors are the problem what is the plan and timeline for fixing that? What is the target date and plan to identify the root cause of the unusually large bills and to stop it?]
KPRC 2 will be live inside the meeting, bringing you the latest details on air and click2houston.com
9 proposals to address unusually high water bills
1. Remove the ordinance that only allows customers to get two leak adjustments in a year
2. Allows customers to adjust their water bills at 100% of their rate if they repair the leak within 30 days
-
Customers may receive a 75% rate adjustment for repairing the leak within 60 days after it began
-
Customers may receive a 50% rate adjustment for repairing 60 days or more after the leak problem started
3. Customers would get 100% credit on wastewater charges
4. Officials want to reduce the leak balance remaining amount from $2,000 to $1,000 and from $250 to $100 for those who qualify
5. If someone receives a huge bill, the customer responsibility percentage will decrease from 150% to 125% of the monthly average water usage
6. For an exceptional circumstance adjustment or bill reduction, people’s bills would need to be two times their average monthly bill. The account may be reduced by up to $10,000.
7. Offer customers a less expensive option to remove monthly base charges
-
The customer would have the option to have their meter locked for a one-time fee of about $150, then all base charges would be removed from the account
8. Customers will save 50 cents on each monthly bill once they sign up for monthly electronic bills.
9. Want to codify the current practice that does not permit officials to look back and charge people after three months have passed since the bill was received. This applies to single-family residential customers.
Investigator Amy Davis, Producer Andrea Slaydon, and the team will continue our ‘DRAINED’ Investigation into water bill issues. Fill out this form if you need help.
Copyright 2023 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
