Of course, city officials told residents that the newly installed water meters were reading correctly, and they were. However, those same officials neglected to inform Somerville residents that the readings were, in fact, wrongfully and knowingly inaccurate.
All this time we were blaming the new water meters, but in reality it was the readings submitted that were the real crime!
The story begins when the City of Somerville switched to the new meters. Ironically, around the same time, the city also let go of a number of employees—possibly during an administration change or for other reasons…