Debate over Rockville utility billing continues

A new year, same discussion.

That was the theme for the Rockville Town Board Monday night, as the board members again kicked around stormwater fees in a discussion that turned heated almost immediately and ended with the town's clerk-treasurer calling out a board member for not paying stormwater fees since 2009. 

Last year, board member Dave Brown called out what he said were major issues when it came to who was paying stormwater fees, the amounts some were paying and that a lot needed to be looked at before the town adopted new stormwater fees. In October, the town board voted 4-1 in favor of new fees, which were set to go into effect January 1. 

However, clerk-treasurer Brandy Asher told the board Monday night that while the rates went into effect at the beginning of the month and will show on March bills, there is still a lot of work left to be done. 

"The rate increase that was already approved and was to have gone into effect January 1 and be implemented on March billing, I have been trying to say for several months that the database I was given was not accurate for the way our utility billing system was presented," Asher said. 

Asher said she reached out to a representative from Structure Point, who put the database together. 

"As we were talking, she said she was told to format that in parcel base because we bill that way. I don't know who told her that, but she was curious as to why the billing department wasn't brought into that conversation. We spent $38,000 on a database that is based on parcels that is no good to me for billing. That is why a few meetings ago when it was suggested to start billing people, I refused to do so until we had accurate information. She sent an email to the storm board on Dec. 9, and as of last week when we talked, nobody had reached back out to her. They are going to have to reformat the database so I can have proper information to properly bill stormwater changes," Asher said. 

Stormwater Board member Kevin Callens told the board he met with Asher Monday morning and was on the call with Structure Point and it was his understanding it was a "billing issue."

"This is a billing issue. The data from Structure Point being formatted only has to do with how it is billed. The actual data, as a whole, is not inaccurate," Callens said, adding that any issue has been rectified by driving past the property and taking an actual measurement. 

Under the ordinance, those with a water meet and those without a water meter that own at least 500 square feet or more of hard water surface area even if no water, electric or sewage services are connected to the property, will see an increase. Any property outside the town limits with water service will pay a storm fee only if a portion of the property they own drains into the municipal boundary or passes through drainage infrastructure the town maintains. 

For those with a square foot area of 0 to 15,000, the rate will be $10.68. Those with 15,001 to 30,000 will pay $21.36, while those with 30,001 to 45,000 will see an increase to $32.04 and anything over 45,000 will be charged $42.72. 

Callens also said any talk that a lot of people had not been billed in the past is not true. 

"It's not a whole slew of people," Callens said before Brown responded the statement was not true. 

Callens asked Brown for a list of people, noting he did not know who that was.

"You make a list. You are on that board. There's 121 people roughly that have not been billed because of the failure of what we have done here," Brown said. 

Callens replied he disagreed with Brown's assertion.

"I have been through every invoice that gets sent out. There was probably between two and three hundred people that live in apartments that do not get billed. If you live in an apartment, you get a utility bill, but you do not get a stormwater bill. The landlord pays that bill. There's hundreds of those people. If there are 120 people, and I am more than willing to sit down with Brandy, I want it to be fair and accurate," Callens said. 

Brown maintained the issues should have already been resolved, admitting he has talked about the issue for months. 

"I have told this whole board it is wrong. I am not going to embarrass anyone in this meeting by naming names, but you know as well as I do. Again, you have sat in this room and said there is only one area that is wrong. I have an email that proves it. You have known this because I have told you it is wrong. There's this whole attitude by the stormwater and if you guys would have been a little more receptive, we could have probably resolved it. You have been disingenuous about who is paying bills, who is not paying bills, who has been overcharged and who hasn't been charged. When you are being charged a rate and the next guy over is not but he owes the same amount of money, it ain't right," Brown said. 

Asher agreed, saying she has said for months there were issues and nobody wanted to "believe me."

"I feel like nobody wanted to believe me. It took me making a phone call to Structure Point questioning the database. I knew it was wrong. If you as a council member know you are overcharging someone, there are legal implications, so I had to make the phone call," Asher said. 

Board member Parke Swaim cut Asher off mid-sentence saying he was "proud of her," and then asked what was going to be rectified. 

"She is waiting to hear from you guys and has for a month," Asher said. 

Callens said an email from the Structure Point representative was not "ignored," despite there being numerous conversations at board meetings about stormwater issues. 

"I don't want anyone cheated. I have worked hard on this," Callens said.

Callens and Brown traded verbal jabs about who knew what, as Brown said he had paid for nine years while others had not. 

"Nine years ago, I didn't live here, so it's my problem and I had nothing to do with it," Callens said. 

Brown replied Callens is on the stormwater board now and it is his problem.

"And, you've been on the board when you storm sewaged my basement and it took about $25,000 to be fixed, so we all have an ox that has been gored. I am trying to fix this one," Callens said. 

Clerk-Treasurer calls out Rockville Board Member for nonpayment

Board member Steve Waltz, who serves on the stormwater board as well, said there are "little things" that are big to each individual, but he tries to keep the perspective of people who live on Jackson and other streets in Rockville who deal with flooding each time it rains.

"It degrades their homes. There are other issues we don't even begin to address that are problems. We don't have enough funds in the stormwater to address those issues in any shape or fashion. The stormwater board has done whatever it can in its power to try to correct these things," Waltz said, adding the board was aware there could be issues. 

That prompted quite the response from Asher.

"I'll just go ahead and say it Steve. You haven't paid a stormwater fee since 2009. There. I'll be the person to say it because everyone else is thinking it, there I'll say it. You have not paid a stormwater fee since 2009, and it is not an ordinance that makes you subject to it. You have sat on a stormwater board and, you just said how important it is for the revenues, but you never contributed to it," Asher said. 

Board member Parke Swaim said the discussion had become "personal," telling Asher, "Stop right there. This is discrimination against one individual. It never became an issue until this man was on the board, and now because Steve is on the board and living there, it's discriminatory and not right." 

Waltz said it has never been paid because it had never been billed.

"It's a matter of bill us. There has never been a directive at any time to not follow the ordinance. Our attorney is not here, but back when it was discovered, it was discovered there were billing errors. One was found when I looked to see what was billed, there was no bill and hasn't been for years," Waltz said. 

Waltz was pressed again about how he can determine rates and has not paid the rate like he expects others to do. 

The board member said the fee "won't register in my household."

"I questioned it way back when, and then it becomes part of it. Why wasn't I? Because I wasn't billed sewer, and you move on. It's just how it is and it becomes ingrained. Brandy has not been billing me for seven years, not because... because that's how it's been built in the system. There are others who have not been billed, and that's just how it is. We found that out when we did this hard surface database. Again, it's a small...it's not a big...I'm sure there's some folks concerned, but $68 a month on top of a utility bill, probably won't register in my house. I've got a lot going on taking care of people. Do I feel like we were I skirting it? No," Waltz said.