Hypothetical situation
You’re at your city of Carmi home at 8pm on a random Tuesday when you notice a pipe leaking in your home. To further complicate matters, you don’t have a disconnect somewhere between the meter in your yard and your home. If you go out to the meter and turn it off yourself, you could be charged a $500 fee for tampering. The right move, according to city officials, is to contact the city and have a municipal employee come turn your meter off. That will now cost you at least $100 after Carmi City Council passed a resolution establishing rates for service calls outside of the normal 7am – 3pm work day. Even some council members were unaware of the potential danger or charge.
Mayor Pollard: If you go out and shut the water off yourself, you can be charged a $500 tampering fee. So if you call somebody out to come out and shut your water off at 7 o’clock at night, then that’s what the fee is.
Tracy Nelson: You can’t turn your own water off?
Several individuals: No
Doug Hays: Because those stops are very ta…you know you twist that just barely too far and you tear it up.
Mark Blake: New meters.
Doug Hays: Yep, you are not allowed to touch your own…that’s our meter, you cannot touch it. They are very easily torn up.
Pollard: Do I need to be sending a bill to you?
Nelson: I don’t think I have a new one.
Pollard/Hays: It’s not the new ones. It’s the old ones.
Nelson: I’ve turned my water off a dozen times.
Lacey Bradsaw: Don’t be telling it.
Nelson: Well hell, I didn’t know it was illegal.
For each service call as defined in the ordinance which concerns electrical, water, sewer, or other, the charge is $100 for the first hour and $125 for each additional hour. Calls on city observed holidays will cost you an additional $50. You can read the entire ordinance below:
Steve-O
November 20, 2024 at 1:38 pmI personally will volunteer for the city of Carmi at NO COST if they are willing to give me proper water meter training, “Which I don’t need” To save our community a few bucks in case of an emergency. Dear Mr Pollard please think about your people they are the ones keeping this town thriving, no need to add extra again and again. Just concerned of our future in this lovely little town.
Sincerely
Steve -O
Ticked Off
November 20, 2024 at 2:21 pmWhat a crock of bs. Can’t wait for election time.
Unknown comic
November 20, 2024 at 2:31 pmDoesn’t this seem a little harsh? I thought you were supposed to help customers instead of penalizing them. So you have an emergency leak and you are supposed to do nothing till they open back up? Come on.
Bill
November 20, 2024 at 2:59 pmCan wait until winter and pipes freeze like a couple years ago. Water lines then thawing and leaking thru out the house. Emergency when water flooding your house and can not shut off. Guess they don’t care insurance will cover the damage if you have it. Who voted this in is my question and is this the only way people are finding out, or did they send something in the mail with your bill. Seems sneaking to me
Concerned Citizen
November 20, 2024 at 3:27 pmVery good question!! Who voted this in and was the citizens made aware of this?
Brad H
November 20, 2024 at 5:22 pmWhich ever employee is on salary should be on call to do the shut off and turn on. Wouldnt cost te city anymore
Donald
November 20, 2024 at 6:21 pmVote these clowns out.
Bob
November 20, 2024 at 7:37 pmI guess the days of home owners working on their own home will be a thing of the past. Who came up with this, I have been turning water on and off at the meter for 40 years and never broke the valve or had any trouble. How much of an issue could this possibly be, how much has broken meters cost the city for this to be considered a legitimate response?
Oh h*** no
November 20, 2024 at 9:01 pmIs there an exception for plumbers coming to do work on your house or am I going to have to pay an extra $200?
Billy Newman
November 21, 2024 at 5:10 amThis is so f*****g stupid the meter only turns one way and only turns so far and they wonder why people is always b****ing about the utilities in carmi pollard needs to go js
Momma bear
November 21, 2024 at 6:17 amThis is ridiculous, I’m so glad I no longer live in town! Highway robbery if I must say so myself. How will the city know if u turned your own water off? Is the city gonna have someone policing around and paying them too? Another way for people to get paid higher wages as they sit and do nothing! I feel so bad for those who have to pay fines, or city employees extra to come out and do their job. Time for election and changes.
mary
November 21, 2024 at 10:54 ama lot of people are disabled and on fixed incomes and struggle from payday to payday…they sure can’t afford things like that…they barely can afford to pay their utility bills…
Paw
November 21, 2024 at 1:13 pmHow ridiculous to charge any money no matter what time it is
Justagirl
November 21, 2024 at 2:04 pmI nominate Steve-o for proper water meaning training! Say no to hidden fees!
Paula Price
November 21, 2024 at 7:34 pmWhat happened to the outside independent audit of the water and electric department?
Dora
November 22, 2024 at 2:06 pmI’ll have my licensed Plumber come and fix it. That’s why he is licensed to know how to work to correct issues without “tearing this up”
Dora
November 22, 2024 at 2:06 pmI’ll have my licensed Plumber come and fix it. That’s why he is licensed to know how to work to correct issues without “tearing things up”