TREZEVANT, Tenn. — Resident John Quinn has become a familiar face at Trezevant’s monthly board meetings.
Tuesday night he came with a four-month water bill breakdown that he said proved the town was overcharging its residents.
Quinn told the board that his water meter had gone unread for three consecutive months, with all the usage lumped into a single bill. His average monthly usage runs about 2,500 to 3,000 gallons, equating to around $85 to $89 a month.
His most recent bill showed 10,000 gallons and came to $155.
“If you take a rolling average of 3,000 gallons over four months, that works out to about $356,” Quinn said. “But since somebody didn’t read my meter for three months and decided to kick it all into one month, I had to pay $407 over that period. You guys got me for an extra $51.”
He said he had already contacted the state comptroller’s office, which told him the practice constitutes fraud. They told Quinn he had to give the town the opportunity to make it right first.
“So here’s your chance,” Quinn said. “I want my $51 back. I don’t care how you do it.”
Water operator Erik Grimes, who was present, explained that a series of water leaks over the previous months had repeatedly pulled him off his meter-reading duties before he could finish.
“I’m one person,” Grimes said. “Water leaks don’t care what time of the month it is.”
He acknowledged Quinn’s bill may also involve a misread meter and said he would look into it.
Alderman Don Barger said several residents had reported unusually high bills that month and that the pattern of a short bill one month followed by an inflated bill the next was a predictable result of inconsistent meter reading.
“When you have a long month of usage thrown onto one bill, there’s no compensation for that,” Barger said. “It’s not like electricity where it evens out. There’s a minimum, and if somebody always pays the minimum, they shouldn’t suddenly get hit with $60 extra because the meter wasn’t read on time.”
Barger made a motion that city hall staff identify all residents who were overcharged and reimburse them, or apply the excess toward their next bill. The motion passed.
Mayor Bobby Blaylock proposed hiring someone specifically to read meters at $1 per meter, roughly $385 a month.
Grimes said he would be willing to train someone and that having a dedicated meter reader would free him up for maintenance work that keeps pulling him away from the job.
Quinn also revisited a sidewalk complaint he had raised last year, noting that a damaged stretch of sidewalk near his neighborhood still hadn’t been repaired.
“You guys still have not done anything about that,” Quinn said. “My neighbor, Miss Anita, she’s in her 70s. She refuses to walk there anymore because that sidewalk is gone.”
Maintenance Supervisor Mary Jo Hall told Quinn the town is legally and financially responsible for sidewalk maintenance because the insurance company holds the city liable, and that repairs are being done in sections. East Main Street’s sidewalks are getting repaired first, then Front Street.
“It’d be nice if it didn’t take a year,” Quinn said. “But whatever. If I start walking and get hurt, I’m glad you’ve got insurance.”