Portage County water customers who need their meters replaced will again start seeing a 50% surcharge on their bill, which had been waived throughout the pandemic.
Old meters can give inaccurate readings, and customers past due for a replacement are typically billed a premium: the last-known reading plus 50%. But since March 4, 2020, county water customers who needed to schedule a meter replacement but declined the home visit would not have to pay the penalty.
County commissioners on Thursday reinstated the surcharge, which will be added to customers’ bills until their meters are replaced.
The county’s hope has always been that the surcharge will motivate people to replace their malfunctioning meters, but many people seem not to care and just pay the extra amount each quarter, said John Vence, a water resources engineer.
Further complicating matters is that the last known meter reading could be wildly incorrect, meaning the customer or the county could be coming out ahead or behind, he said.
Water meters typically last 20-30 years, Water Resources Manager Tia Rutledge said. The customer buys the first one, but the county pays for all replacements.
Except in the Village of Mantua, where readings are taken monthly, meters are typically read on a quarterly basis. It’s all done remotely, but if a water resources employee notes that a specific meter is not sending a reading, or if a reading is significantly higher or lower than previous readings, the property owner receives a letter to schedule a meter replacement within 30 days.
During the height of Covid, however, water resources office staff would cross check those addresses with a confidential list the county health department provided, and had the authority not to allow water department employees to enter the property.
While that particular scenario never happened, Rutledge said, property owners had (and still have) the right not to allow water resources employees in their buildings. Customers sometimes take that option. In those cases, the customers continue receiving bills with the surcharge, she said.
The water resources department does its best to provide evening and weekend meter replacement opportunities so customers are not inconvenienced, Rutledge said.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.