I would like to tell you my experience with the city on this. I posted here right after my first bill about the fact that my water bill went up by $20+, a 60% increase. I called the city and, after some discussion, discovered that my home was shown as a duplex, something that hasn't been true for four years. The city corrected their records (at least they said they have--I won't know until my next bill). It didn't take detailed site plans, only a statement by me that I had looked up the foundation footprint on their web site and measured my garage and driveway. From this, I could tell them the total impervious surface. This is all it took.
I do have ONE complaint: They would not let me correct the bill and pay the lesser charge (the city automatically assesses a penalty for not fully paying the bill). I didn't like it (and I know that for some people, paying that extra $20 would be more of a hardship than it is for me), but I paid it. What was really frustrating was to get the next bill four weeks later and to see the wrong total on it, too. When I called about this, I learned that it takes 45 days for the corrections to show up on your bill and, yes, I must pay the extra $20 a second month. I was assured that my water bill would be credited with the excess I paid, so I should get a very low water bill next time. I didn't find the city to be unreasonable. Perhaps it was because I had done my homework and already had the numbers for them, or perhaps I called early enough in this fiasco that they had not yet been inundated with calls. Whatever the reason, my experience was a relatively good one. I do think the city should look into fixing a system that penalizes people for paying the correct amount when an error is made. It should be a simple matter to credit the penalty as well as the erroneous amount when a correct is made. Dottie Titus, Jordan REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
