Reading Water Authority Bills Include $95 Whammy

A 1947 topographic map of the Reading, Pennsylvania area. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With little advance notice to customers, the Reading Area Water Authority’s regular water and sewer bills mailed last week contained an extra $95 charge for city trash and recycling, and a demand that the charge be paid by month’s end lest penalties be imposed.

The move left Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer’s administration and the authority doing damage control, answering complaints by people who say they can’t pay the unexpected bill on time.

And it fueled City Council’s anger that Spencer shut it out of the process, then mishandled the planning.

“It’s outrageous,” customer Sandy Burkhart told council Monday.  “The city should think of us poor people who have nothing.”

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=477020

Agency Letter To Sovereign Center Says Water Could Be Shut Off

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  We think Mr. Miller needs some customer service training if he thinks the wording of the letter sent by his agency isn’t threatening.  Just sayin…

The Reading Area Water Authority recently sent the operators of the Sovereign Center a surprise: a letter demanding that the arena replace its big water meter within 30 days or risk the authority shutting off its water.

If the arena shuts down the system to replace the meter, or if the authority does, the arena can’t make ice, center general manager Zane Collings told the Berks County Convention Center Authority at its Thursday meeting.

The Reading Royals were in the middle of the hockey season when the Feb. 28 letter arrived and now they’re in the playoffs.  The team starts the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight.

City Council adopted the ordinance requiring the new meters 10 years ago.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=470867