Camp Hill owes nearly $70,000 in water bills

The Dadeville Waterworks and Sewer Board charged the town with penalty fees on three separate occasions in 2022 for missed payments and once so far in 2023, according to public records. The Dadeville Waterworks and Sewer Board recently delved into the issue during a Feb. 14 board meeting. 

“Their current bill was $52,000 that we just sent them and they were almost $15,000 on the 30-to-60 (days late) so they owe us $66,000,” Utility Superintendent Mike Ingram said. 

As of Feb. 9, Camp Hill owed $66,035 to Dadeville, according to records. 

Ingram noted selling water services to a municipality differs from citizens but said Dadeville and Camp Hill faced a similar conundrum before. In 2019, the Camp Hill City Council received notice the town’s water would be cut off if city leaders failed to pay $64,000 to the Dadeville Water and Sewer Board for service. 

According to Ingram, the debt incurred this time exceeds the previous amount from four years ago. 

“Several years back, they were behind and got caught up, but they were not as high as these bills are,” he said. 

Based on the board’s policy, Ingram said payments are considered delinquent beyond the 15th day of the month. At that point, a 10% penalty fee is applied in addition to the billed-amount owed. According to Ingram, the board initially noticed Camp Hill was failing to make consecutive payments last fall. 

“The worst came probably during October, November (2022),” Ingram said. “We started noticing it more. They were keeping everything current, and then it just started getting a little bit worse and a little bit worse.”

Public records show Camp Hill received late fees in both November and December, and collectively incurred penalties totaling $13,484.16 between the dates of May 2022 and January 2023. The Dadeville water board issued its most recent fee on Jan. 18, totaling $4,236.

According to Ingram, Camp Hill’s water bills in the past typically averaged between $15,000 and $20,000, but in recents months nearly doubled. 

“That is because there are water leaks in the system because I can promise you their customers don't have that many leaks,” he said. 

Dadeville Councilmember Darryl Heard, who oversees the city’s street department, said several problems exist within Camp Hill’s water system. 

“The pumping station doesn't work. The tank has to be cleaned and you have leaks,” he said. 

Dadeville city attorney Chad Harrison said it is incumbent on the Town of Camp Hill to address issues within their infrastructure. 

“That needs to be done by them either fixing their issues and paying the bills or allowing the state to handle the problem, but they have to do that. The City of Dadeville can’t force them to do that,” he said. “The only mechanism we have as a board and a city is to cut off their water, which is not really an option as that is an option that is very painful for a large group of people.”

Rather, Harrison said the City of Dadeville is attempting to cooperate with Camp Hill to address this matter. 

Ingram said both municipalities have agreed to meet next week with representatives from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to initiate negotiations. 

He said Camp Hill Mayor Messiah Williams-Cole is the only elected leader the board has had been in contact with regarding the town’s water bills.

“The mayor is the only one that we have had any contact with, not the city council themselves,” Ingram said. “I think some of their city council members have talked to either the board or some of our city council members.”

Williams-Cole said he would not provide comment regarding the town’s finances, including bills paid to utility providers, but said the Town of Camp Hill does receive water from Dadeville. 

However, Camp Hill City councilmember Constance Heard stated the town is paying its bills on schedule. A public records request was made by Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. to Camp Hill to see proof of the payments, but the request was denied.