Politics & Government

Resident Receives $69K Water Bill

A switch to a new billing system has resulted in erroneous water bills and revealed years of flaws.

Canton resident Fred Rehrig didn't think anything could top the $68,000 water bill he received in June.

Saturday, he opened his latest statement. According to the bill, he owes the city of Canton $69,521.16.

"Just as we did not use 9.8 million gallons of water in June, we have not used 202,580 gallon since then," he said in an email to City Manager Scott Wood. "Our typical monthly use varies between about 3,00 and 9,000 gallons."

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Since August, when , officials have said they would work to correct the hiccup.

But new stories like Rehrig's have convinced Mayor Gene Hobgood to call an emergency meeting Tuesday night to make sure that "everything that can be done is being done to alleviate this problem."

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"I am concerned about the inconvenience this is causing some of our citizens and about the negative impact this situation is having on the City's image and finances," he said.

At , Wood said the problem affected 554 accounts, down from the 700 figure that ex-CFO Scott Price quoted in August. The city has a total of 7,000 utility customers.

"Your next bill is going to reflect your actual usage," Wood said during the meeting.

He could not be reached for comment this evening.

Tuesday's meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m. at . Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

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