While the City of Greenville’s water utility system and billing pitfalls have been somewhat of a well documented thorn in its side, a recent decision by the city council looks to serve as a remedy.
After concluding a special call meeting of the city council Friday, Mayor Errick Simmons announced the city’s cancellation of the Siemens Water Meter Performance Contract and Lease Agreement.
During a closed session to discuss litigation, the council voted unanimously to begin developing a “better, more accurate solution” to alleviate the water meter issues the city is experiencing.
“Today’s action is a necessary legal step to resolve the water meter and water billing issues our residents continue to have as a result of this Siemens Water Meter Program,” Simmons said in a statement Friday.
He pointed out that having dealt with the water meter situation for quite some time, the current administration has done a number of things such as organizing town halls and implementing water meter system solutions to address problems with the water system.
And, according to Simmons, the cancellation of the lease agreement not only means soliciting other service providers and entering into a new contract, but looking at an entirely “new system.”
“The Siemens project consisted of two different programs — the water meter program and the energy efficiency program,” he noted. “There really hadn't been an issue with the energy efficiency portion of the program, we’ve just had issues with the water meter program.”
Simmons highlighted that while the total contract includes both water meters and energy efficiency, the bulk of the money has been spent on the water meter program which has failed.
According to the minutes of a regular council meeting, the city entered into the Siemens Water Meter Performance Contract in May 2011.
“We’ve entered a series of orders to try and address the issue. We even asked Mueller Systems to come in and help with the accuracy of the program,” Simmons recalled.
However, after 11 years of no effective solution, the council unanimously entered an order to cancel the water meter portion of its contract with Siemens as well as an order to solicit proposals for the replacement of the water meter system.
