43
Some Liberty residents take issue with water price charged by Girard
A township trustee said she has received several complaints.
LIBERTY — Mark and Judith Solomon are a little steamed about a recent $500 bill from the city of Girard that they say is 10 times higher than their usual cost for water.
The Solomons said Girard, for years, would estimate their bills but last summer sent actual meter readers to the Churc Hill Road residence and determined the estimates were too low. That actual reading led to a bill for their current water usage and the additional usage from the past several years.
Girard provides water to township residents in the area between Academy Drive and the area along Greenbrier Drive just beyond Royal Arms.
The Solomons have come to an agreement to pay off the amount owed from low estimates in the past as well as their current bills, but the situation does not make them happy.
“I am very agitated with this situation; it’s just not fair. Don’t penalize us for your stupidity,” Judith Solomon said.
Township Trustee Jodi Stoyak said the Solomons are not the first township family to contact her with complaints about Girard water.
“I have received a few complaints from residents about bills, outages and not having meter readers to actually read meters — things like that,” she said. “This is a situation that should be rectified. It is very frustrating for our residents.”
Stoyak also takes issue with the dollar amount per gallon that township residents are charged for water from Girard. She said township residents are made to pay 40 percent more for water than Girard residents — something permitted by law and contract.
Girard Mayor James Melfi said the 40 percent cost difference is fair considering the township does not have to maintain the infrastructure or the actual water department overhead at about $200,000 a month. The overhead cost, he said, falls on the citizens of Girard.
“The citizens of Girard paid for improvements to infrastructure, and we now have extensions to other communities. You can’t give them the same price for use of that water and infrastructure,” the mayor said.
Stoyak said if township residents are going to pay a premium rate, they should receive good service and not deal with fluctuating or estimated bills. She has contacted Trumbull County officials about the cost and would like to speak to Girard officials about the service to township residents.
“Not only do we have poor service, but we are paying the highest rate,” she said.
Melfi said the city will soon eliminate the issues with estimated bills by going to a remote reader system for more accurate readings.
He said any claim that the city does not provide adequate service to township residents is simply not true.
Melfi said the city has tried to work with the township, taking part in development projects that have cost the city about $175,000 in the last five years.
jgoodwin@vindy.com