TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Topeka governing body gave its input on the “readiness to serve” charge Tuesday night at city council.
It’s a monthly fee for people on all water meters, whether it’s used or not. Part of the discussion was an ordinance, primarily targeting properties that owe money.
Last month, letters were mailed to delinquent customers for 792 accounts, and that totaled to more than 446-thousand dollars owed. As of Tuesday, that number has gone down to 724 accounts with more than $424,000 owed. City leaders say this isn’t about usage, but rather about fairness and access. Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala said she is against “readiness to serve,” and thinks it brought mass confusion.
“I’m going to be very blunt, and I have been from the beginning, that I think it was poorly executed, it was poorly rolled out, I did not vote for it and to me it’s just another way to try to get money out of taxpayers,” Valdivia-Alcala said.
Topeka strip club owner indicted for machine gun possession
Valdivia-Alcala said with water rates continuing to go up year after year, it’s getting to the point where it’s very difficult for people to maintain.
No action was taken on this discussion Tuesday night. The next steps are for it to be brought to the infrastructure committee for review.
For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.
