LAKE PARK —
Lake Park residents behind on their water bills were surprised Thursday to find their water service terminated without prior notice.
More than 60 residents owing delinquency payments called the City of Lake Park with complaints, said City Clerk Anita Amore. Users argued that the city had been more lax with their policy enforcement in the past, allowing residents more leeway with their payments, but the city attests this was never the case.
The Lake Park City Charter and Code are clearly defined and adhered to, Amore said, and is available to Lake Park citizens on the city’s website as well as on the back of every water bill.
The water billing code states that bills will be sent the first of each month, and are due within 10 days. If the payment is not submitted within this time period, users are subject to a penalty of 10 percent of the bill on top of the original payment, and may have their water service terminated. Once service is terminated, users will be charged a $5 reconnection fee.
Amore said most residents who had their service terminated were beyond the 10-day grace period, but some residents were concerned they had not received a telephone call or a letter in the mail announcing the pending cut-off, especially since Amore contacted four local
businesses also delinquent in their payments.
“They’re supposed to be here for the citizens,” resident Patricia Brown said, “not to stress everybody out. It’s not that you turned the water off. It’s just the manner in which they were doing it. If you’re going to call some people, you need to call everyone.”
While Brown was not one of those owing payments to the city, she felt concerned for her fellow citizens, including some of her elderly neighbors who allegedly had been allowed to pay their bills late in the past.
“I talked to one elderly lady who said she’d been paying every two months,” Brown said.
Brown said she witnessed maintenance department workers shutting off the water and urging delinquent users to contact the city. In light of the hot weather, she felt exceptions should have been made for residents struggling to make payments.
Amore said citizens should contact the city before their bills are due to resolve any issues.
“There’s been a lot of rumor and misconception,” Amore said, “but as people have called or come in, I’ve been willing to work with them.”
Lake Park City Attorney Rob Plumb reminds citizens that however the handling of the billing policy may have appeared to residents in the past, the code has been in place for years.
“Nobody’s water service wasn’t turned off who didn’t have a delinquent water bill,” Plumb said. “The rules need to be applied uniformly, and that’s certainly what’s going to happen now. Anyone who’s got a legitimate concern or a hardship case should contact the city, but for someone to be outraged when they know they haven’t paid their bill, or to suggest that there’s some sort of impropriety seems inappropriate to me.”
Residential water bills are in many cases less than $20 a month, according to Plumb. The city uses water revenues to maintain the water system, pay for testing and ensure quality for its residents.
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Lake Park residents behind on their water bills were surprised Thursday to find their water service terminated without prior notice.
Discussion
City enforces delinquency policy
Water bills irk Lake Park residents
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