Published: April 06, 2009 10:47 pm      

PSC seeks look into town’s water, sewer

Alleged mismanagement of Meadow Bridge’s water and sewer utility led the West Virginia Public Service Commission to request a general investigation of its practices and procedures.

According to the July 17, 2008, petition filed by PSC staff attorney Wendy Braswel, the investigation was requested after earlier complaints about the utility were lodged with the PSC.

A public hearing on an audit of the utility will be 10 a.m. Wednesday in council chambers at the Meadow Bridge Town Hall.

The petition for the general investigation asserted that the town “is currently not efficiently managing either its water utility or its sewer utility.”

“... Even worse, the town has experienced such turnover with its billing clerk that it is unable to consistently manage its financial operations,” the report reads. “As a result of the lack of efficient management, pervasive financial and operations problems and possibly fraud have occurred with the town’s water and sewer utilities.”

The PSC charges that it appears possible that Meadow Bridge’s water utility is operating at a deficit and owes the sewer utility around $7,000.

It says the town maintains separate bank accounts for the water utility, the sewer utility and its general fund, but occasionally commingles funds from each account.

“It appears that no one person or entity is designated to operate the utility bank accounts or provide prior approval for expenditures from utility accounts,” the petition says.

It goes on to say Meadow Bridge doesn’t maintain “a set of books” of financial information but maintains registers for checking accounts and receipts, does not prepare budgets or monthly financial reports for water or sewer, has not taken action to disconnect service on sewer accounts that have been delinquent “for years” or taken measures to collect the delinquent bills, the report asserts.

In a response to the complaints, Mayor Tim Killen admitted that the town was unable to provide billing history for water and sewer accounts prior to Oct. 27, 2007. The town’s utilities were kept only through electronic records until October 2007 and those files are damaged and cannot be accessed. That month, the town began using a new computer system for its utility accounts.

When Killen assumed office July 7, 2007, the PSC documents indicate he discovered that 800 accounts existed for only 380 customers.

According to complaint information, Killen admitted that he “is powerless to oversee or manage financial operations” of the water and sewer systems.

Other items cited in the PSC petition include:

- On Nov. 6, 2007, the town’s utility clerk was fired at a council meeting. From November to February 2008, Councilwoman Hope White was allowed to operate the utility office until a clerk could be hired.

“It is unclear whether Councilwoman White had any previous experience with utility accounts or was qualified to operate the town’s financial utility operations,” the complaint reads.

- A well that serves as Meadow Bridge’s water source has not been cleaned since it was installed 50 years ago, the petition asserts. It adds that the town currently lacks the $3,500 estimated by a well driller to be necessary to clean and repair the well and acquire a new pump; in addition, the driller indicated the city still owes $1,500 for previous work done on the well.

- Complaints to the PSC alleged that the town occasionally disconnects water to some residential neighborhoods for several nights in a row without notice, but maintains service to a car wash. According to the complaint, town officials admitted they had disconnected service to some neighborhoods as a means of locating leaks through the process of elimination.

- Officials failed to properly notify customers of boil water advisories.

- The town’s water operator is not properly certified, and the water supply is not adequately treated.

- PSC Staff Engineer James Weimer stated that deteriorated water lines have resulted in an unaccounted water loss of about 50 percent, “seriously exceeding” the 15 percent permitted by law.

- Inoperable isolation valves are possibly the reason the town is unable to find and treat water leaks, he stated.

- As a result of failure to acquire and maintain pumps for its sewer utility, sewer customers routinely experience back-ups when raw sewage discharges into their homes, the result of the town’s failure to acquire and maintain pumps. The system needs two operating pumps, among other items.

- PSC staff was unable to ascertain why the water utility incurred some of the expenses reflected on its 2007 annual report and said some of the expenses do not seem reasonable, based on the size of the water utility.

After the town’s initial response, Town Recorder Rhonda Harless filed a pleading that disputed certain statements.

She stated that the previous utility clerk misapplied the town’s tariff, requiring the town to make various adjustments. She also indicated that some utility functions are not managed and that the town denies deferred payment agreements to some customers and does not follow consistent policies when negotiating deferred payment agreements.

In requesting the general investigation, the PSC wanted to determine whether Meadow Bridge “is unable to adequately serve its customers, has been effectively abandoned by its management, whether its management is grossly and willfully inefficient and unresponsive to its customers for adequate water and sewer service...”

Mayor Killen did not immediately return a phone call Monday.

The entire petition is available online at www.psc. state.wv.us. The case number is 08-1192-WS-GI.

— E-mail:

jfarrish@register-herald.com