The City of Marion will be turning off the water for many delinquent customers this week.
City Clerk Laura Hinton on Monday told the City Council there are many customers owe several thousands of dollars, and city workers will be cutting off their service.
“Council members do not call me if they’re cut off,” she said. “If you have to pay and I have to pay, they should have to pay.”
Hinton said the city gives customers a 60-day grace period and offers payment plans, but some accounts have grown too far behind.
Hinton told the council that costs to operate and make repairs to the water and sewer system are strained. In November, a failed water pump caused residents to lose water for days as Marion officials worked to order and install a new pump. Hinton said the repairs and upgrades are raising costs.
May water collections totaled about $62,000, but Hinton reminded the council that garbage fees must be removed from that amount before determining what is available for water operations. “We should not even be collecting less than $80,000 to $100,000 each month,” she said.
“Some of them are as high right now as $60,000,” she said of the monthly power charges for lift stations and booster stations. “Now that we’re fixing stuff and going through all these different phases, the bills are starting to increase, and it is kind of scary.”
During her financial report, Hinton said the city has financial issues and is doing its best to manage limited resources while keeping essential services running, including paying the city’s 33 employees.
“The city has to operate,” she said. “We can’t get chemicals, we can’t pay power bills, unless citizens do their part.”
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