Inaccurate meters lead to LaGrange water bill spike

A spike in utility prices prompted several LaGrange neighbors to contact News 5. Some said their water bills had more than doubled from the previous month.

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The Village said years of inaccurate meter readings were at least partially to blame.

This is the villages negligence, Mark Varady told News 5 Thursday.

The longtime LaGrange resident said his average monthly water bill typically hovered around $130. His bill this month was more than 180% higher.

Over the last period of 20 years or so, they said I used 22,000 gallons that wasnt paid for. It raised my bill to $382 for this month, Varady said.

Dennis Smiths family has lived in their LaGrange home for more than 50 years. He shared an October bill of $114 and a November charge of $297.

That small degree of inaccuracy has brought on this big change. And if theyve known that, why wasnt it corrected? Smith said.

LaGrange purchases its water from the Rural Lorain County Water Authority and bills residents for their usage.

Mayor Gary Kincannon said it became evident several years ago that the amount of water the village was using was far less than the usage it was billing residents. In November 2024, he said LaGrange transferred $140,000 from its general fund to bridge the gap that month.

Kincannon said the village had been working to upgrade its roughly 30-year-old water meters for about 5 years. When they were installed this fall, it became clear the aging technology had been inaccurately reporting water usage.

The most recent bills reflect the discrepancy.

We had this large undercount. And thats why we had this huge increase for some people, Kincannon said.

He explained some residents saw larger increases than others, and some may have seen little change.

The Village Council is considering an ordinance that would allow residents to spread the costs over several payments. Some dont believe they should foot the costs for what they see as the villages faulty equipment.

What legal authority do they have to do this? I dont see one, said Varady.

The mayor said the village is weighing all of its options and is still considering absorbing the costs.

Hindsight rather than foresight We shouldve been more proactive rather than reactive. Thats a lot of the problem here, Kincannon said.

The village council will discuss its options at its next meeting on Nov. 19.

Varady and Smith, who are both retired and living on fixed incomes, said the unexpected expense is a burden.

The cost of living keeps going up. My fixed income, my wifes stays the same. Less and less we have money to do anything with, said Smith.

Varady added, This is going to be a hardship. Its going to be a hardship on a lot of people.

Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at [email protected].