Mt. Vernon Register-News

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March 8, 2011

RLCD stopping water service to Sesser

By TESA CULLI tesa.culli@register-news.com

BENTON — The Rend Lake Conservancy District is refusing to provide water to Sesser due to past due balances and late fees which have piled up to more than $115,000.

“The City of Sesser has, since July 2009, refused to pay Inter City Water, a fund of Rend Lake Conservancy District, for $5,000 of water each month,” information from RLCD states. “In addition, the city has refused to pay interest and penalties for late payments assessed per their water contract. All efforts to collect the past due balances, short of stopping service to the city, have been tried with no success.”

Last year, both Sesser and RLCD filed lawsuits against each other regarding the issue, which stems from a dispute about water meter readings in 2005 through 2008. Both lawsuits indicate the water meter at Sesser was tested in 2005, 2007 and 2008 by a third party, which did not find a problem with the meter until June 2008. However, the city of Sesser maintains its unaccountable water usage increased over the time frame. A problem with the meter was discovered in June 2008, and a new meter was installed a month later.

Sesser claims the district didn’t accurately maintain the meter, and therefore is in breach of contract and owes the municipality in excess of $127,500 in water overpayments.

The case is still pending in Franklin County court, and over the months since the lawsuit was filed, Sesser has refused to pay $5,000 of each bill sent by the conservancy district.

“The District assumes that the water customers of the city of Sesser have continued to pay their bills,” information from RLCD states. “The District further assumes those who have not paid have been shut off from water service. Where is the money they have collected from customers and not paid to Inter-City Water? When the courts rule the City of Sesser must pay past due balances that now exceed $115,000, will they have the money to pay?”

The RLCD Board has voted to refuse water to Sesser, under terms of the water contract between the district and the city. In addition, the board voted that water service could be continued if the city places current past due balances and all future short payments in an escrow account until such time as litigation between the two are resolved.

“We would like this money to be put in escrow to be sure it’s there when the verdict comes in,” RLCD General Manager Keith Thomason said. “We have asked them to set the money aside, and they have not responded to our request.”

Thomason said the $115,000 owed the district includes the $5,000 amount being withheld by the city monthly as well as late fees which have accumulated.

“The District has made every effort, over more than a year, to resolve this matter without withholding service,” information from RLCD states. “This difficult step will not be necessary if the city of Sesser complies with the District’s escrow request prior to April 15, 2011. If the District does not require each of its water users to pay their water bill, the cost rises to all other users of the District’s water. It is not appropriate to require some water districts to pay more because one (water user) chooses not to pay.”

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