Williamson County approves $10,000 to cover animal center reclaimed water bill after leak

Speaker 1 introduced Resolution 12612, asking the county to appropriate $10,000 from unappropriated county general funds to the Williamson County Animal Center budget to cover an unexpected reclaimed water charge. Speaker 3 explained the need: according to the transcript, the reclaimed water line leaked for months and the county received a bill of “about $19,000” after what Speaker 3 described as "we had leaked over 1,000,000 gallons of water."

Speaker 3 said the city that bills the county, the City of Franklin, invoices three months in arrears and that the county discovered the leak only after the large bill arrived. He described steps already taken: winterizing the line and arranging to turn irrigation back on in monitored zones so the city can watch meters as zones come online and help isolate any future leaks. "When we turn that zone on ... the city will monitor the meters as we turn them on so that we'll know we can isolate the leak and get it fixed before it runs," Speaker 3 said.

Speaker 3 also said the county previously received relief on earlier high bills after an appeals process and has submitted an appeal asking the city to consider relief on the third bill. On prior bills Speaker 3 said the county received credits of roughly half the billed amounts; he said, "If they give me back 50% of it ... then it'll be $5,000."

Speaker 2 asked whether the leak had been fixed and whether the city has the capability to alert customers to sudden spikes in usage; Speaker 3 said the software the city uses can support alerts but the city has not enabled that upgrade. The board voted to approve the appropriation; the transcript records the motion, a second and the affirmative voice vote, with no opposing votes recorded in the transcript.

The appropriation directs county general funds to temporarily cover the animal center's reclaimed water charge while staff pursue possible credits and appeals from the City of Franklin. The county said any unused funds would return to the general fund. The resolution passed; the transcript does not record a specific date for when staff expect a final outcome from the city's appeals process.