Councilwoman To Get Bill for Gas

Monticello Councilwoman Jacqueline Smith’s bill for back natural gas charges was to be delivered to her this week, according to city manager Walter Smith.

He said the bill would be “within a few dollars” of the $1,700 calculated by city clerk Susan Roper as an estimate of what Ms. Smith would have been billed had her gas meter not been inoperative since March of 2001.

The city manager said he was going to check with Mayor Susan Holmes before giving the bill to Ms. Smith. He had not discussed the amount due with Ms. Smith, he said, but he had indicated earlier that she expected to pay up. Ms. Smith has not returned calls to comment on the matter for publication.
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Meanwhile, city meter reader James Sauls has filed a formal grievance over his reprimand and one-day suspension for rudeness to a customer after a confrontation with Ms. Smith. Last month Mr. Sauls discovered that gas was flowing through the meter that had recorded no usage in some 33 months.

Mr. Sauls’ behavior has been termed a “separate issue” from the unrecorded gas usage. Under the city procedure, Mr. Sauls’ grievance will be reviewed by the city manager, and then can be subject to a council hearing.

City officials have said they thought Ms. Smith’s residence had been converted to total electric after work was done on her heating system in 1991. In fact gas still was being consumed all the while.

The faulty meter was replaced after Mr. Sauls discovered the problem.