Chamois aldermen plan to make property owners responsible for monthly water bills

By Theresa Brandt, Staff Writer
Posted 1/2/20

Chamois aldermen are planning to change the city water ordinance to make the property owners responsible for the monthly water bills. They worked on rewording the amended ordinance at the meeting …

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Chamois aldermen plan to make property owners responsible for monthly water bills

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Chamois aldermen are planning to change the city water ordinance to make the property owners responsible for the monthly water bills. They worked on rewording the amended ordinance at the meeting last Wednesday night.

The city of Chamois has more than  $50,000 in unpaid water bills and aldermen have taken a tough stance on collections over the past several months. The newly-amended ordinance will require deposits to be made by property owners and monthly water bills will be sent directly to property owners. Currently the accounts are in the name of each tenant, and bills are sent directly to the tenant.

“As of right now, they (the property owners) are worried about their rent but when you throw the water bill in too maybe they’ll be a little more selective about who they rent to,” Alderman Marty Gerloff said.

“And if there is a leak in that house the property owners are going to be a lot more willing to fix it if the water bill is coming out of their pocket,” Alderman Debbie Huff added.

“The accounts that are open now, that renters have, we’ll have to leave the way they are,” Brochu said. “If the water gets shut off or someone wants to open a new account then the newly-amended ordinance would apply.”

“It just makes sense,” Gerloff said. “Everything is going to fall onto the property owners.”

The amended ordinance will be posted and there will be a public hearing at the next meeting before a vote takes place.

In related news, there were a couple of issues involving water accounts that City Clerk Michelle Stanley brought before the board.  Stanley has been calling residents before their water is scheduled to be shut off to make sure they understand they need to come in and make a payment.

One resident had her water shut off and is asking for the board to turn it back on because she said that she misunderstood the message that Stanley left her. In this case the water meter at the resident’s house was broken and Stanley called to let her know that the city had replaced it and that she would start getting an accurate reading from this point forward but that there was no way to know how much water she had been using so the city would just start over with the new meter readings.

The resident took this to mean that her past-due water bill had been wiped clean.

“I feel like this was an honest mistake,” Alderman Kenny Rost said.

“I’m willing to extend some grace here if she’s willing to stick to her payment plan,” Huff said.

“But the next time this happens, she pays the full amount and she doesn’t get turned back on,” Gerloff warned.              

The board agreed to turn this customer’s water back on.

Another customer is asking for the board to waive the $10 late fee because she was in the hospital and missed the payment date.

“This customer always pays on time,” Stanley said. “They have never been late before.”

“On one hand you want to be nice, and on the other hand, then we set a precedent where people call and ask us to refund late fees all the time,” Brochu warned.

“I’m afraid if we do this for one person, we’ll have to do it for everyone,” Rost agreed.

Board members decided not to waive the late fee for this customer.

There has been some money donated by residents and businesses to go to help people pay their water bills. The board will need to figure out a way to decide how to award the money.

“The people who donated this money want it to go towards the people who really need it,” Brochu said. “We have to come up with a way to decide who gets the money.”

“I’d put everyone’s name in a hat and pull one out,” Gerloff said.

This decision was tabled until a later meeting.

* The board approved a variance for Ralph Cramer to construct an addition to an existing shed on his property. Cramer has already talked to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) about the requirements for building on a floodplain.

“The bottom line is this is a pretty basic structure,” Brochu said. “It is just for storage and he is aware of the various guidelines he has to follow.”

* Aldermen discussed the need for a nuisance ordinance enforcer.

“We need to appoint someone new to enforce the nuisance ordinance if we are going to write tickets,” Brochu said. “It does not have to be a board member.”

“What does it pay?” Gerloff asked.

“Nothing,” Brochu said. “People get a warning letter if they are in violation of a nuisance ordinance; if they don’t do anything about it then we send them a ticket. We basically need someone to tell Michelle we need to send a letter.”

Brochu asked the Board to consider bringing names to the next meeting of people who might be interested in the position.

“I do have some names in mind,” Brochu said. “We do have some citizens who’ve taken a special interest in whether or not our nuisance ordinances are enforced, and they might enjoy that particular responsibility.”

* In financial news, the board approved outstanding bills in the amount of $4,386.84.

* The city’s account balances were reported as follows: General Fund ($45,501.81); Water Fund ($88,125.70); Sewer Fund ($29,007.04); Park Fund ($1,011.77); Water Deposit Fund ($17,500.30); Cemetery fund ($19,416.50); Sewer Repair Fund ($17,069.78); City Cemetery Fund ($6,411.78); Water Repair Fund ($32,790.51); and Sewer Bond Reserve ($26,484.41).

*The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2020 at 7 p.m.