PUNTA GORDA — With only 32% of the city’s 14,184 meters reporting correctly, Punta Gorda residents are still receiving guesstimated, higher than average bills — or no bill at all.
The lingering issue is causing concern as residents sometimes don’t receive a bill, or when they do, it’s for hundreds of dollars.
They are offered an interest-free payment plan. But, some complain the city doesn’t have a reliable method to challenge the high bills.
Punta Gorda City Council members were recently updated on the issue. They were told there were 9,682 non-reporting meters in October with an additional 492 that failed that month.
With 9,143 still not reporting monthly water bills, Punta Gorda is launching a pilot program to test new meter reading equipment.
In 2016, the city’s contracted The Zenner Advanced Metering Infrastructure system to read meters. Later, the utilities department discovered faulty parts caused inaccurate readings. The city was advised it can sue the Dallas-based manufacturer, but would still need to replace the faulty meters.