AIRWAY HEIGHTS – A couple of unpaid water bill disputes had to be addressed with city council on Aug. 28.
The first dispute from Jason Rosa stems from a tenant going delinquent on their utility bill, racking up over $1,700 as mentioned in the study session.
According to the city, the property owner, Rosa, was notified through the process in place. They said Rosa was also given ample time to request the water be shut off to prevent further bills from accruing.
The dispute board recommended to the council that the responsibility of payment goes to the property owner.
After hearing the discussion, Mayor Larry Bowman said the city had implemented a rule stating utilities had to be in the names of property owners and not renters.
According to Bowman the city understands when equipment goes bad, but any tenant/landlord relationship is strictly that.
“When you have a tenant, that is between the landlord and the tenant,” Bowman said. “That is not between the city and the tenant.”
Parks and Recreation Director J.C. Kennedy said he remembered a mechanism being in place that can help landlords recoup lost utility costs.
Council moved the conversation forward with a general consensus the owner should pay the bill and figure out how to recover their money.
The dispute board said they send notices out, and if they are not returned, they assume the respondent has received the notices.
The second dispute came about with different circumstances, and even a different recommendation from the board.
Angelina Campobasso claims she had some work done, and the timers on her watering system was set to the wrong time.
According to records read at the council meeting, she claims her timers were supposed to be set for 10 minutes, but were set to run for 10 hour intervals.
This caused her bill to go up considerably and she currently owes $592. The board recommends paying it this one time due to the fact the water issue was not her doing.
However, there was some discussion about having the company that made the mishap pay the bill.
The biggest question was how did the property owner not realize her water was running for 10 hours at a time?
The discussion was pushed forward to be further discussed and voted on next council meeting, but some members differed on how the situation should be handled.
Matthew graduated from West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2011 with a journalism degree. He's an award-winning photographer and enjoys writing stories about people.
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