Trumbull wants new water meter system

The county is hoping to generate more income with the use of automatic meters.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — The Trumbull County Sanitary Engineer’s Office is asking the county commissioners to allow it to advertise for bids to provide about 3,400 water customers with an automatic meter-reading system.

Rex Fee, executive director of the sanitary engineer’s office, said 2,700 to 2,800 customers are in the Champion and Bazetta public water system, and 600 are in the Howland Mosquito Creek water system.

The request was made Tuesday during the commissioners’ work session. They will vote on the request today.

Fee explained the meters need to be upgraded to generate more revenue. Some of the meters are about 30 years old, while the life expectancy is seven to 10 years. As the meters get older, the readings become more inaccurate.

The meters provide the county with the amount of water being used, thus the sanitary sewer use because it depends on water usage.

The current meters must be manually read or a touch board used. The new meters will be electronically read from outside the residence. Workers will have to get into the residence to install the meter at no cost to the customers, Fee explained.

Also during the work session, Thomas Mahoney, director of the Trumbull County Department of Job and Family Services, asked commissioners to spend an additional $134,000 in noncounty funds to transport the “working poor” to job sites.

Miller’s USA Taxi and Wheelchair Transport Inc. of Warren provides rides around the clock. This will bring the contract for work-related rides to a total $634,000.

Mahoney is also seeking to spend an additional $85,000 with Miller’s to provide those on public assistance with rides for medical visits. This brings the contract for such transportation to $635,000.