Friday, June 7, 2002
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Friday, June 7, 2002 |
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City getting tough on delinquent bill payers By JOHN
THOMPSON
Senoia is going to start cracking down on water customers who abuse the system. The City Council unanimously passed increasing the fee for reconnecting water service for residents who don't pay their bill in a timely manner. Previously, the fine was $25, but the council doubled it to $50 Monday night. City administrator Murray McAfee said the process of turning off and reconnecting a customer was extremely labor intensive, and $25 was not even covering the workers' time involved in the process. He also mentioned that some residents were cutting off the locks that city workers install to stop the water flow for delinquent customers. Jim Rogers, who serves on the city's tree committee, suggested from the audience the fine should be raised to $250, but the council decided to go for a smaller amount. City Councilman Pat Tunnell said he had a problem with increasing the fine for residents who were having financial difficulties in paying their bill, but McAfee said financial reasons were not the primary reason many residents didn't pay their bill. "It's not who you think that are not paying their bills," he said. After the council passed the increase, they said they would examine the increased fine in six months to see how it was deterring habitual offenders.
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