Posted 1:06 am Thursday, January 26, 2012
City Council Tackling Lingering Water Concerns
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Whitehouse officials continue to make efforts to ensure that residents' water meters and water bills are accurate.
Staff members are investigating water issues and have had meters tested for those residents who claimed their bills did not adequately reflect their water usage, Councilman Mike Jeter said.
Test results for about a dozen water meters showed that readings were accurate, according to city officials. The meters were tested after multiple residents addressed the Whitehouse City Council in November, saying their water bills were nowhere near what they normally are.
Since then, Jeter said Whitehouse has looked at the billing process for water as far as how the computer was calculating bill amounts. The bills in question were calculated manually, and the amounts lined up with what the computer calculated, he said.
Jeter also said the city is looking at avenues that could have caused some residents' bills to spike. He attributed the increases in part to this summer's drought and a water rate increase that came into effect after the drought.
Now, he and staff continue to look at possible scenarios to explain what caused high water bills as well as a possible new water reading system.
Jeter said it currently takes 30 days to process bills, but a new system would give residents a quicker response. He said it also would help alert residents within 24 or 48 hours if water is continuously being used on their property, so they could check for potential leaks.
Residents also would be able to look at their consumption by the hour, he said.
Although there are potential benefits, a new reading system is still in the discussion phases, and the city must look at cost and benefits as well as resident input, Jeter said.
On Tuesday, council members directed city staff to set up a workshop with a potential vendor so they could ask questions. If they determine that a new reading system is feasible and beneficial, the city would put the system out for bid.
"We haven't found anything wrong with water meters, but we're still sympathetic to citizens," Assistant City Manager Kevin Huckabee said. "We're trying to look into a solution so it won't be a recurring problem."
Fire Inspector
Whitehouse officials also decided how the city will handle fire issues when Ronny Fite's
services as fire marshal are terminated on Tuesday. Fite, who will still serve as fire chief, received a termination letter earlier this month.
Whitehouse City Council members on Tuesday approved an ordinance that replaces the fire marshal position with a fire inspector position. According to the ordinance, the fire inspector, who must be licensed by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and hold fire inspector #1 and #2 certificates, will be able to recommend to the city manager the appointment or removal of deputy fire inspectors.
The inspector also will have the authority to enter and examine any building or premises where a fire has occurred, the ordinance states.
City Manager Mike Peterson said some candidates have already inquired about the inspector position, and he told them to send in resumes.
"Whenever we get resumes, we will take a look at them and go from there," he said.
Arson cases inside city limits will be handled by the Smith County Fire Marshal's Office.
CITY ATTORNEY RESIGNATION
City Council members on Tuesday also accepted City Attorney Steve Evans' resignation.
Evans could not be reached for comment at his office late Wednesday afternoon. But Peterson said as far as he knows, the city was reviewing Evans' contract, and since his office is in Palestine, it's a long commute, and he decided it was best to leave the position.
Huckabee said a contract attorney from Starr Schoenbrun Comte McGuire law firm in Tyler is serving as the interim city attorney.
