GILROY
– Given that it had taken two and a half years, Mark Zappa was
surprised when the city gave him a $232 credit, unsolicited, for an
abnormally high water bill he complained about long ago.
GILROY – Given that it had taken two and a half years, Mark Zappa was surprised when the city gave him a $232 credit, unsolicited, for an abnormally high water bill he complained about long ago.
Julie and Jeff Gopp, who also reported unusually high, unexplained water bills to The Dispatch, will also see a credit on their next bill, city Administrative Services Director Michael Dorn said Thursday.
The Zappa household’s bill showed 99,000 gallons used in May 2001, nearly three times their usage in other summer months that year. They never had a spike like that before or since. Zappa disputed the bill to city officials and paid $65 to have his water meter inspected, but it was reportedly in working order. He found the city unwilling to bend, and since he was unwilling to have his water shut off, he paid the $335.71 fee.
Then recently, after reading of Gilroy resident Jenny Liu’s fight with the city over a one-time bill for 98,000 gallons last August, Zappa reported his story to The Dispatch. To verify which month the bill in question came from, he asked a city water-billing official for his billing history for 2001.
The city gave Zappa the billing records he requested, but they also enclosed a credit related to the 2001 spike, effectively bringing that bill down to $103.45. As with a credit the city offered Liu – which she refused – this one did not reduce the number of gallons used. Rather, it reduced the rate per gallon to what Zappa is accustomed to instead of the higher rate given to those who use more water.
“I’m not unthankful,” Zappa said. “They’ve gone out of their way all of a sudden. They sure didn’t seem to (care) when I first brought this to them. … They’re probably trying to shut us up.”
According to Dorn, because of bad publicity the city has gotten over the recent high-water-bill controversy that started with Liu’s complaint, the city has made a temporary exception to its policy of giving credits only when a customer can prove a water leak and that the leak was repaired. Going back for this summer only – and for Zappa’s case – the city is now awarding credits in cases of very large, accidental spikes in water usage. Next summer, the city will return to its former policy, he said.
The Gopps’ bill last July showed 98,000 gallons used – an impossible total, Julie says, despite a new lawn they put in that month. According to Dorn, Jeff Gopp also installed new plumbing that month and was regularly flushing pipes. The combination of this and watering a new lawn in summer could easily raise water usage to 98,000 gallons, Dorn said, but he decided to give the Gopps the credit anyway because their usage appeared to be accidental.
