META — Meta City Clerk Deidra Buechter reminded contractors at the board’s meeting last Thursday that no unauthorized work on the city’s water system is permitted.

“There are few handymen in the area who seem to think it’s okay to get into people’s water pits — that, again, is against the law,” she said, adding that some water access shut off for non-payment has been restored illegally. “I don’t know how much more clearly we can put that other than we’re going to start sending people bills for repairs.”

Buechter received that advice from Chief Water Operator Trevor Plemmons, adding that if individuals don’t pay for the repairs, the city may have to take them to small-claims court to recoup costs.

Clerk Buechter said that two people recently admitted to “messing” with their water meters. “How much clearer can I be that you can’t do that?” Buechter asked. “I don’t know what the answer is, but Trevor suggested that we start charging them. He understands we need someone here to enforce our ordinances, which is why he suggested taking them to court.”

Mayor Ivie Helton asked City Attorney James Klahr of Lauber Municipal Law if the city could pursue tampering charges.

“I don’t see why we can’t charge them with tampering, because that’s what the electric company does,” said Helton. “If they’ve disconnected you and you reconnect without their authorization, you not only get a reconnection fee if you do turn it back on, but you get a tampering fee. So I mean, if they’re openly going to admit that they’re doing it, and we can prove that they are, then why not?”

Alderman Otto Wankum agreed. “It’s one thing just to lift the lid and look in and see if there’s water shooting everywhere, and then close it back up,” he said. “But when they start doing this or that, quite frankly, they could make it hell of a lot worse than what it was when it was just leaking or seeping or whatever.”

Helton suggested including a reminder with the next water bills stating that the city ordinance outlines a $500 fine for tampering with a water meter.

Klahr noted that anything aldermen can do to provide notice would be helpful.

“I foresee an issue that we charge it, and then they come back, and they say, ‘How could you charge us $500?’ We say an ordinance was put in place, or something like that,” said Helton.

Clerk Buechter also discussed the fact that while residents are responsible for their water meters, there may be extenuating circumstances in which the resident is unaware of the city’s ordinance.

“I agree that in a lot of cases, a homeowner should be responsible for the work they have done, but only to a certain extent,” said Helton.

In related water news, aldermen plan to strategize the search for water leaks as the city saw another high-loss month.

According to Buechter’s report, the city sold 382,110 gallons of water in January but pumped 622,260 gallons, resulting in a 37.79% water loss.

“That’s a few percentage points higher than it has been recently, which is not ideal,” said Clerk Buechter. “We dug on top of the hill for leaks. We’ve been chasing a leak we cannot find. We’re at a loss.”

She added that the city could periodically dig until the leak is found, but there is a limit. “We can’t monopolize all of our funds and monopolize our contractor’s time digging up the ground for no reason.”

Buechter told aldermen that several holes had been dug the previous week with no indication of a leak. “We found water, but no leak,” she said.

Approximately 5,000 gallons were attributed to routine flushing, but the remaining discrepancy represents unaccounted-for water within the system.

Clerk Buechter also addressed water usage on Jan. 28 — a system-wide amount of 40,999 gallons — due to residents leaving faucets to drip during freezing weather to prevent pipe damage.

She reminded residents that dripping faucets account for a lot of water they wouldn’t normally have on their bill. “People think that a dripping hose or a dripping faucet is minimal, next to nothing,” she said. “They call me, and I tell them to set an ice-cream bucket underneath and see how fast their bucket fills up. They usually call me back and say, ‘Oh, my God, I had no idea that it was that much water.’ It adds up.”

WATER UPDATE

• A total of $6,246.77 in water sales was recorded in November, with $1,890 charged for trash, $200 in late fees, $120 in reconnect fees, and $218.65 in sales tax. Total charges were $8,675.42 with a previous surplus of $1,641.66 and payments received in the amount of $8,625, leaving a positive balance of $1,591.24.

FINANCIAL NEWS

• In her regular monthly financial report, Treasurer Buechter announced the city had once again topped $1 million in all accounts at Mid America Bank. She noted income/deposits of $76,728.89 and debits of $21,232.89 for a balance on hand as of Jan. 30 totaling $627,164.65; the money market balance was $143,663.79, the CDBG balance was $104,756.68, and two certificates of deposit totaled $176,790.07, giving the city a total of $1,952,375.19 in all accounts. Buechter told the board the city is waiting for the last of the credits to be deposited into the CDBG account, which will be closed next month once all activity ceases.

Remaining business will be presented next week.