‘The city has to be run like a business’: Sturgis mayor reacts to high water bill concerns - 14 News WFIE Evansville

‘The city has to be run like a business’: Sturgis mayor reacts to high water bill concerns

STURGIS, Ky. (WFIE) - Water is becoming a precious commodity in the town of Sturgis. Many residents say they are watching their consumption after seeing their bills double last month.

“It’s putting me in a tight spot,” said long time Sturgis resident Marcie Dailey.

As a single mom, Dailey says the extra $150 on her water bill this month means she has to make some tough choices.

“I actually put off getting my medicine for a couple weeks,” she said.

Sturgis Mayor Billy Adams tells us city employees understand the hardships too.

‘We live here too. It’s affecting all of us,” he said to 14 News on Thursday.

Mayor Adams says the increase in water and sewage rates was overdue as the last time the city adjusted costs was back in 2014.

For the last several years since then, he says the city has been losing money every month as they failed to collect enough money from residents to pay back the city’s water bills.

“You have to run the city like a business,” said Adams. “A business cannot afford to give stuff away. They cannot afford to do things that they’re losing money at, so we had to stop the bleeding.”

In many cases, Adams says residents’ water consumption was being previously underestimated, meaning some people’s bills were adjusted to be higher as the city caught up on more accurate meter readings.

This adjustment in addition to the change in rates created the perfect storm for some residents.

“At the same time, we also had an issue with water meters being estimated, and they were estimated very low and it all kind of hit at the same time,” said Mayor Adams.

Some business owners in Sturgis tell us these surprise costs are threatening their businesses.

Greg Jones is manager at a car detailing shop that uses tens of thousands of gallons of water every month. He says the shop’s bills have more than doubled.

“We can’t do it. I mean [as] a small business, we can’t do it,” he said.

Jones says the issue isn’t as simple as raising prices.

“People don’t want to pay the price now for detailing car. If you charge that much more for the water bill going up, they’re not going to do it.”

While the costs are being felt by everyone, Mayor Adams explains the water and sewage rate increases are the only way he sees forward for the city. He says if anyone has a better suggestion, he’s happy to hear it.

“We’re just trying, we’re trying,” he said. “I know people are upset. I understand.”

Residents will have a chance to ask questions and voice their concerns over the changes in their bills at the Sturgis City Council meeting this coming Monday.

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