PETERSBURG, Va. -- Petersburg residents said they have battled higher than usual water bills, irregular delivery of bills, and that the city won't cooperate with concerns. Lester Wetsch, with a recent bill for $5,137.95, has the distinction of the highest water bill on Mount Vernon Street, but he was not alone with an outrageous bill.
"To round it off, $2,200," neighbor Cliff Nevetral said.
A few doors down, Sharon Sculthorpe was billed $3,871.52, for one month.
"And I was gone for one week on vacation," she said.
Neighbors throughout the Petersburg said their expensive bills don't arrive on time, and the city has not helped anyone.
"I think it's total incompetence," neighbor Kay Beale said. "We call and nobody will return calls; when they get flooded with a lot of problems like this, they will lock the doors."
Neighbors said it was obvious no one has used thousands of dollars in water.
"If we left it running all day we couldn't use that much water," neighbor Beverly Nevetral said.
Petersburg Mayor W. Howard Myers said he has heard about the situation.
"I have to say, I'm very saddened these situations are going on at this particular time," he said from outside City Hall. "I don't want to always blame the meter, but maybe at this particular point, the administration has dropped the ball to some degree. Administratively we have made some changes."
The mayor asked citizens to be patient and said he hoped in the next 30 days the water bills will be on track.
