Monterey officials have found a sewer rate mistake that had gone unnoticed for four years.
Monterey Mayor Alex Garcia said in 2020 the Board of Aldermen moved to raise the sewer rate. At the time, a software company entered the wrong rate. Garcia said it was discovered the town had been undercharging on sewer rates by $2.70 per 1,000 gallons since 2020. Garcia said it does not feel good to discover the mistake.
“We just gotta keep going forward,” Garcia said. “Yes, we have been losing money for the past four years. Yes, Perdue closing is gonna you know, we’ll get through it. We are just going to keep moving and get through it. This town is resilient and I don’t have a doubt in my mind that we are gonna get through it.”
Garcia said the town has adjusted sewer rates and has sent bills out with the corrected rate. Garcia said as of now he is more focused on correcting the mistake rather than figuring out who to blame.
“We are not throwing blame on anyone,” Garcia said. “There’s probably a bunch of people who should have caught it. We have our books audited once a year. So there is probably a bunch that should have caught that. We are not worrying about that. We are worrying about fixing it.”
Garcia said when it comes to the town getting flack from residents he said everyone can look at it two different ways.
“Listen I’m just glad we found it and that it ended up and keep going,” Garcia said. “About the town gets flack, I mean they can look at it two different ways. They have been saving $2.70 for the past four years or you know we need to catch the mistake. However you want to look at it.”
Garcia said people who do not use over 2,000 gallons will not see any change on their bill. Garcia said if residents have any questions about their bill they can contact city hall.
