Lancaster city homeowner says water authority won’t pay for fence it damaged [Lancaster Watchdog]

When a Lancaster Water Authority employee accidentally struck and damaged a city resident’s fence with a backhoe on Oct. 2, the homeowner assumed the city would pay for the repairs.  

Weeks later, Matt Douglas-Snyder, who lives on North Charlotte Street, says the authority’s insurance carrier told him it is only obligated to cover his $1,000 homeowner’s insurance deductible, leaving him to pay the $1,300 balance for the repair out of pocket or risk a potential increase in his premiums.

“I thought this was unbelievable for a government entity,” Douglas-Snyder said in an email to The Watchdog. Surveillance footage he shared appears to show the operator hitting the fence while driving past, not while performing work. 

Douglas-Snyder said he’s frustrated that neither the authority nor its insurer, Travelers Insurance, has offered to cover the full cost of repairs or apologized for the incident. 

He’s questioning what resources residents have when government crews damage private property, and whether municipal insurance policies are structured to protect agencies rather than homeowners. 

A Travelers representative told him that under the Pennsylvania’s Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, local agencies are allowed to deduct a claimant’s insurance benefits from any payment. The city’s insurer would pay only the uncovered portion, typically the homeowner’s deductible.

The state law the Travelers rep referred to was established to protect governments from excessive claims that could drain public resources, which is understandable, but should a government entity be allowed to destroy a person’s property and then require that person to pay for it? 

“It seems unfathomable to me,” Douglas-Snyder said. “That’s just a basic understanding in our society — if you break it, you fix it.”

Douglas-Snyder previously had a positive experience with the city about six years ago when roadwork on Charlotte Street caused flooding in his basement. “That time, they were responsive and apologetic,” he said. “This feels very different.”  

The homeowner said he has refused Travelers’ $1,000 offer, calling it “completely ridiculous.” He also said he contacted the mayor’s office last weekend but has not received a response. 

The Lancaster Water Authority did not respond to questions about its policy for handling property-damage claims, and Travelers Insurance declined to comment.

The Watchdog would love to hear from someone in the city government regarding this incident.

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Email the Lancaster Watchdog at watchdog@lnpnews.com or visit lancasteronline.com/watchdog and tell us about it. You can also send mail to Lancaster Watchdog at P.O. Box 1328, Lancaster, PA 17608-1328.