SOUTHWICK SELECTMAN JOSEPH J. DEEDY.
SOUTHWICK – Selectman Joseph Deedy met with the Water Commissioners last night to help resolve a problem with a resident’s bill.
Carol Ann Gauthier has been trying to resolve the problem for about a year. She attended several water meetings and after not receiving the solution she desired, she went to the Board of Selectmen about her concerns with both her water and sewer bills.
The problem was with a meter that was broken for five years and fell through the cracks. Deedy was asked to serve as a liaison to Gauthier to reach a solution to the problem.
The board, which also serves as sewer commissioners, ended up agreeing to give Gauthier back $591.55, minus $259.4 owed on the current bill. Deedy said the check was cut for $332.12.
“She is now current and hopefully this won’t happen again,” Deedy said of Guathier’s sewer bill.
While the Board of Selectmen have no say in what the Water Commission decides, Deedy said he went through her water bills and suggested the department give Gauthier back $498.71.
Commissioner Edward Johnson noted that Gauthier already received two abatements and one “free bill,” but he would take Deedy’s suggestion “under advisement” and take up the matter at the next meeting because chairman Luther Hosmer was sick and missed last night’s meeting.
“If you want to give her something back, I’d appreciate,” said Deedy, who presented the Commission with 13 pages of information on the subject.
All agreed it was troublesome that a broken meter went undetected for five years.
“It is disappointing that a meter wasn’t working for five years, but you can’t blame any one person,” Deedy said.
The Water Commission is set to meet Feb. 20.
