Phoenix Will Forgive Water Billing Fees

The City of Phoenix will soak up a billing blunder that could have cost homeowners thousands of dollars. However, residents in an unincorporated area of Maricopa County will still have to begin paying higher water rates.

After a meeting of top Water Department administrators, officials announced they will forgive three years of fees recently charged to those north Valley homeowners. The bills ran as high as $3,000.

"Bottom line is, we made a mistake," said Ken Kroski, Water Department spokesman. "We readily admit that . . . and we're going to stand by in good faith in retracting this."

Phoenix has been underbilling the Desert Hills residents for 12 years. They should have been charged 50 percent more than Phoenix residents. When officials noticed the mistake, they sent out adjusted statements.

Members of the Desert Foothills North Homeowners Association, whose jaws dropped when they saw the surprise bills, are relieved.

Source: Arizona Republic