Edison council meeting brings new councilwoman, codified cut-off dates, late fees for missed utility bills

EDISON – Edison City Council members nominated a new councilwoman and addressed growing concerns over rising water and sewer rates during their recent meeting.

Rena Timpson was nominated to replace former councilwoman Jane Ingram, who resigned from her council position during a special called meeting Jan. 2. Ingram had two years left on her term. Councilwoman Tia Ingram nominated Timpson from a list of several residents to take on the position.

Timpson was approved by the entire council, sworn in and joined the council members for her first meeting. Councilman Curtis Adams was nominated and approved as mayor pro tem.

About 30 people attended the meeting. Many were there to hear the city address increases in water and sewage rates as well as cutoffs for overdue bills.

The council voted to codify an ordinance regarding bill due dates for utility payments. Due dates are on the 20th of each month, and late fees begin the 21st. By the 27th, services will be disconnected if bills aren’t paid. There will be a 10% late fee.

Bills are sent out by the first of each month.

In late January, a sign was posted at Edison City Hall warning of cut-offs for unpaid bills and past due accounts. It read that all bills are due by Jan. 20 and cut-offs begin on Jan. 27. Residents began posting complaints on the public Facebook page “Edison Today” about a lack of notice or that their services were being cut off prior to Jan 27.

During the December council meeting, higher sewer and water rates were put in place. The new base charge is $13.46 for water and $15.36 for sewer. There are additional debt services and administration charges.

Residents saw more expensive water and sewer bills for the first time in January since the new rates were approved. Worthy said many residents are dealing with leaks in their homes that could be leading to higher costs.

“We’re responsible from the meter to the line, but the consumer is responsible on the other side,” she said. “If they have a leaky toilet, a drippy faucet, a broken pipe, it’s going to make your bill go up.”

The water meters usually indicate if there is a problem, she said.

Moore said city-caused errors that created higher bills are being credited back to residential accounts.

“If anyone has an issue, we try to work individually with each person to see if we can find what is going on with the bill and why it’s high,” Worthy said.

Troy Timpson, an Edison resident, brought up concerns about high bills during the public comment section of the meeting.

“Some of these people are not going to be able to pay these $300-$400 water bills,” he said. “Is there any way you all will work with them without cutting their water off?”

Timpson said he doesn’t feel people should have their water cut off because they can’t afford a bill that is suddenly increased.

“People that try to pay – give them a chance and work with them,” he said.

Worthy said costs for overdue bills are falling back on the city if they aren’t paid.

“We have had so many people taking advantage of not paying their bills that we had 114 people that would’ve been due for a cut-off this past month,” she said. “Some of those had two … three months billed, and they had not been cut off.”

She said Edison can’t afford to operate like that.

“You all voted for us to come in here and try to straighten up the mess,” Worthy said. “I know it’s hard, but we are doing the best we can.”

Janice General, an Edison resident, called for better communication about cut-off dates. And resident Bobby Williams said some people in the community are on a fixed income and won’t be able to pay for higher bills.

“Where is that money going to come from?” he asked. “Y’all don’t think about that.”

Adams said each decision is made taking into consideration the individuals’ bills and circumstances. Moore and Worthy encouraged people to call or come to the city hall if they have concerns regarding their bills.

“If you come to us, we will do everything in our power to figure out what is wrong with it,” Worthy said. “We will reread meters. We will look back at your history.”

On top of its debt, the city has been dealing with broken water meters. One hundred fifteen of the city’s meters that read residential water usage were broken. Moore said that 35 had been repaired at the Monday meeting.

Fixed meters were donated to the city. Broken meters are being charged a minimum fee no matter how much water is used, Mayor Shirley Worthy said.

The council voted to have the remaining meters replaced at a cost of $80 per meter.

Along with the broken meters, the city’s billing system has had difficulties with some residents not receiving their bills on time. Moore said she believes the billing issues were sorted with the post office. She said some bills were getting stuck at processing in Tallahassee, Fla., and some residents were receiving them late or not at all.

The council voted to accept a $28,000 grant from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority to have the city’s water lines checked for lead.

Lori Moore, Edison’s accountant, said the city is normally not eligible for grants because of its five missing required state audits. However, it is federally required for the city to have its water lines checked for lead.

Moore also gave an update on how much of the city’s debt had been paid off. She said when she began working with Edison at the end of September, the city owed $408,000. The city now owes $258,000.

For the first time in an otherwise tense meeting, the public attendees started clapping.

“We are doing everything that we can to get out of this debt,” Moore said. “We didn’t create this, but we are trying to dig out of it.”

Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganStaff Photo: Lucy Lannigan

Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan