Utility Meter Expert To Speak At Monday’s City Council Meeting

Edgewater, FL – Edgewater residents have a chance to hear from a utility meter expert at tomorrow (January 11) night’s Edgewater  City Council meeting.  Local conservation activist Libby Ann Higbee said in a Facebook post that, "This expert is not employed nor under contract with the city of Edgewater and will be considered your expert witness. This company will be under contract with you." Over the last year or more, many residents have had issues with their city utility bills. If you feel that there’s a problem with your bill, you can go to the meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. You can also fill out an e-comment card online. Higbee says  that during the first citizens’ comment section, "we will be discussing the utilities billing issues. We are interested in the status of the city’s investigations into and resolutions of the billing issues." The expert will speak during Citizens Comment. You will have an opportunity to speak with the expert after Citizens’ Comments outside council chambers. He will assist utilities customers  in identifying what is contributing to the billing issues.  Higbee said that after several ‘good conversations’ with Mayor Thomas that there will be meetings in the future to try to resolve the utility issues. "As an advocate for the residents of Edgewater and upon their urging we will go forward with this process in the meantime. It may be that we can get quicker answers than the city is capable of getting." The process is to put meters in on the homeowners side of the property for a billing cycle, for those that who have had billing anomalies or have had leaks ruled out. Higbee says, "There are many contributors to the billing issues and this really isn’t going to answer even half of the questions. This expert will then issue his findings in a report to the resident." Rather than waiting for another petition, Higbee says the meters will let them compare actual readings to what the city’s reading and what the bill is reporting. "We should be able to narrow it down to at least hardware or software at that point. Perhaps both. I have a feeling some bills will tell a very unique story while others may show a pattern."