MONROE - The City of Monroe Board of Public Works credited over $800 to a resident's enormous water bill, even though city workers, the property owner and the resident couldn't find a leak and the Water Department maintained the meter was in proper working order.
"This is an unusually high rate of flow for one quarter," board member Charles Koch said. "It's sounds like a malfunction of the meter or the reader, (but) it's just an incident we have to look at and make an adjustment."
Kelly Waeffler's last quarterly water bill was over $1,450 - for 255,000 gallons of water.
City records entered at Tuesday's board meeting showed her past bills have been under $200 for several quarters. Her monthly average rate is about 1,500 cubic feet, or about 11,200 gallons, according to Director of Public Works Kelly Finkenbinder.
Water Department Supervisor Mike Kennison and Finkenbinder said no leaks could be found inside or outside the residence.
Property owner Don Amacher, Monroe, was at the board meeting, representing his renter, Waeffler, who did not attend the meeting.
Amacher said he checked the house and accompanied city workers to look for leaks inside and outside the house March 22.
He verified that they found no leaks, and that a city worker made an adjustment to the meter while he was at the house.
Finkenbinder said the worker was re-setting the reader to match the inside meter.
"There is no way to adjust the inside meter," he said.
Amacher said the water usage rate was "back to normal" after March 22.
Finkenbinder said the meter reading slowed after March 24 and by April 13 had a reading "typical of a meter."
"Mechanical things can malfunction," Amacher said, to the board. "The meter should have been taken out and tested."
"Now that the meter is working, how can it be tested?" he said.
Amacher also said he was told by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission that water usage averages about 75 gallons per person per day.
Waeffler is a single parent with two children, ages 6 and 3, he said.
Kennison and Finkenbinder told the board that water had to have been flowing through the meter.
Kennison demonstrated the function of a pneumatic piston found in water meters. The flow of water through the piston makes a magnet spin which turns the meter.
The only way to make the magnet spin is for water to go through the piston, he said.
"A toilet that leaks every day for three months can triple your water bill," he said. "And stools can leak intermittently."
Board members discussed adjusting the bill in several ways, first with a $300 credit and splitting the remainder of the bill in half. Next, they considered strictly splitting the bill in half.
But Finkenbinder said the suggestions were arbitrary, and Kennison cautioned the board that the PSC would required the city to change its policy to apply across the board on any customer's question of consumption.
The city has a policy and formula in place for crediting sewer costs, but not water bills, which are regulated by the PSC.
Based on the usage of the Waeffler bill, the city formula equated to a $861 credit.
"This is an unusually high rate of flow for one quarter," board member Charles Koch said. "It's sounds like a malfunction of the meter or the reader, (but) it's just an incident we have to look at and make an adjustment."
Kelly Waeffler's last quarterly water bill was over $1,450 - for 255,000 gallons of water.
City records entered at Tuesday's board meeting showed her past bills have been under $200 for several quarters. Her monthly average rate is about 1,500 cubic feet, or about 11,200 gallons, according to Director of Public Works Kelly Finkenbinder.
Water Department Supervisor Mike Kennison and Finkenbinder said no leaks could be found inside or outside the residence.
Property owner Don Amacher, Monroe, was at the board meeting, representing his renter, Waeffler, who did not attend the meeting.
Amacher said he checked the house and accompanied city workers to look for leaks inside and outside the house March 22.
He verified that they found no leaks, and that a city worker made an adjustment to the meter while he was at the house.
Finkenbinder said the worker was re-setting the reader to match the inside meter.
"There is no way to adjust the inside meter," he said.
Amacher said the water usage rate was "back to normal" after March 22.
Finkenbinder said the meter reading slowed after March 24 and by April 13 had a reading "typical of a meter."
"Mechanical things can malfunction," Amacher said, to the board. "The meter should have been taken out and tested."
"Now that the meter is working, how can it be tested?" he said.
Amacher also said he was told by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission that water usage averages about 75 gallons per person per day.
Waeffler is a single parent with two children, ages 6 and 3, he said.
Kennison and Finkenbinder told the board that water had to have been flowing through the meter.
Kennison demonstrated the function of a pneumatic piston found in water meters. The flow of water through the piston makes a magnet spin which turns the meter.
The only way to make the magnet spin is for water to go through the piston, he said.
"A toilet that leaks every day for three months can triple your water bill," he said. "And stools can leak intermittently."
Board members discussed adjusting the bill in several ways, first with a $300 credit and splitting the remainder of the bill in half. Next, they considered strictly splitting the bill in half.
But Finkenbinder said the suggestions were arbitrary, and Kennison cautioned the board that the PSC would required the city to change its policy to apply across the board on any customer's question of consumption.
The city has a policy and formula in place for crediting sewer costs, but not water bills, which are regulated by the PSC.
Based on the usage of the Waeffler bill, the city formula equated to a $861 credit.