Extra Charges on Water Bill

[AdminAdmin]

I noticed a message at the bottom of our new utility bills and I have a few questions.

Charge of $5.00 per month water and $1.00 per month sewer will be applied whether your water is "On" or "Off".

1. When did River Ridge start adding this fee to the water bill? There is no indication on the bill as to when this fee came into effect.
   
   
2. What does this fee cover... what is it for?
   
   
3. Is this fee in addition to the $60.00 annual fee we already pay?
   
   
4. Will the $60.00 annual fee no longer be required when paying annual dues?
   
   
5. Where is this fee listed on my water bill? Is this hidden in with my water usage? If it is then why is it not listed separately so we know what we are paying?
   
   
6. Was this voted on at a board meeting? If so which meeting? I have been unable to find any reference to this. Please indicate month and year of meeting so I can go back and look a the minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

[mfaithful]

I asked at last board meeting these same questions. Was told it would be checked on. Next billing is coming out soon. was hoping to have an answer before then

[breezesocks]

I just got an email with an attachment containing my water and electric bill. I printed it, wrote a check and mailed it. Very quick, easy and convenient. This system should save RR a lot of money on postage, man-hours, etc.

What I do not like is that I do not know "exactly" what I just paid for. The number of gallons used, the number of Kilowatts used were not shown anywhere. The minimum water, sewer, electric fees were not shown anywhere nor was the fee to read the meters. How would I know "exactly" what I just paid for?

I have been paying electric, water and sewer bills for 49 years in four states at more homes than I can remember and this is the first time I have paid a utility bill and did not know "exactly" what I was paying for. How would I know if I had a water leak or if a neighbor has tapped into my water and electricity (yes, this has happened to be before in RR).

Could it possibly be that someone or some persons at RR do not want us to know "exactly" what I paid for?

I think I will have my office send RR a bill for $1000 with no explanation of what it is for. Maybe they will be like me and pay it without knowing "exactly" what they are paying for.

Fat chance!

[Willie Saunders]

All the bills that I am receiving from River Ridge are not showing the actual usage of water or electric. Also the bills should be itemized to list the $1.00 sewage charge and the $5.00 water meter charged.

Also would like to know why we are paying an additional $60.00 for water per year when we are already paying the $60.00 on the User Fee

Thank you

[Connie Suddueth]

As for when the extra $1.00 and $5.00 charges took place I can not give you that answer with out going  back and reading the minutes of every board meeting. I will say I purchased property in 2015 and I was paying these fees at that time.
What are they for? River Ridge has to pay a  sub contractor to read the meters each month. Along with this there  are two hand held readers that each person uses to record the monthly reading and chargers to keep the readers running. These items cost  money to purchase and upkeep. Then there is a hand cradle in the office where we upload the meter readings to a software that calculates the monthly usage. Not to mention the software cost money. Then there is the company that takes care of the software and who insures the information is processed correctly and generates the monthly invoices.
River Ridge makes NO money off the property owners for water or electric. We charge the property owners exactly what the suppliers charge us for water and electric. But we do have to purchase water and electric meters when they go bad. We have to pay for the paper to print the invoice and envelopes with stamps to mail each month as well as everything I mentioned above. The office is always looking for ways to save money where we can. Property Owners agreeing to use email for invoices instead of mailing has helped a lot. As we all know when you modernize the way River Ridge does things there are going to be cost associated with it. I certainly hope this helps with some of you questions. Please feel free to stop by the office and we can discuss more of your concerns.

[AdminAdmin]

I understand the $5.00 per month charge if you have water or sewer service on that lot, all utilities have extra fees. My issue is that I am NOW having to pay this fee on a lot that has NO water or sewer service.

I purchased the lot in question in 2005. This lot has no utilities and never has since I've owned it and for the last 15 years I have only had to pay annual dues for this piece of property.

All of a sudden I start getting bills for $10.00 every 2 months for a vacant lot with NO electric, water or sewer service. You say this is to cover the cost of reading meters and processing bills, etc., and I can respect that but why is River Ridge paying someone to read meters where there is no service?

My main issue here is pretty simple, I do not want to pay for something I am not getting! If this fee is for reading a meter:

1. Can I have River Ridge remove the meter?
   
   
2. How much are they going to charge me to do so?
   

[Connie Suddueth]

Yes you can have River Ridge  lock down the water meter if you are not using any water on a lot. No charge to  provide this service. There will be a $50.00 charge to unlock if you ever want to start using the water on said lot. Call the office if this is something that you would like completed.

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