Dolton trustees urge residents to submit meter reads to avoid ‘estimated’ water bills; public works lists repairs

Trustee Steve, a member of the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees, urged residents Tuesday to stop relying on estimated water bills and to submit monthly meter readings online or by a texted link so bills reflect actual usage.

"We have to kill estimated water bills," Trustee Steve said, and he told residents the village has a place on its website where they can submit readings and that officials plan to send a text message with a direct link to make submissions easier.

The call to improve billing accuracy was the lead point in a wider Public Works report read during the meeting. The report said the department has implemented new metrics and procedures intended to speed response times to resident requests and help track work assignments.

According to the report presented by Trustee Steve, Public Works activity in the most recent period included three lift-station or related repairs and emergency sewer jetting, two water-main repairs, and installation of 16 water meters. Crews performed street pothole repairs villagewide and regular street sweeping; the department also repaired 13 public-works vehicles and other municipal vehicles were serviced.

Trustee Steve asked residents who believe they are behind on payments to come to village hall to confirm account status and noted one resident had arranged to pay about $3,000 in past-due charges. He emphasized that water service is not free and urged cooperation with the billing process.

The report said the village has begun street repair work under a grant awarded this year and that staff applied next year for a larger streets-and-alleys grant; the transcript did not specify the exact application amount.

Public Works also reminded residents that property owners who trim or remove trees are responsible for disposing of branches and that bundled branches in specified lengths or brown yard bags will be collected. The report said the final yard-waste pickup for the season will be the last week in November.

Trustee Steve credited Public Works staff member Helen for preparing the report and thanked village management staff, including Village Manager Jackie and Public Works superintendent Bunch, for their work on improving service delivery.

For water-main breaks or urgent Public Works requests the report listed phone numbers: (708) 201-3280 and (708) 201-3281. The report concluded with a request for residents to call Public Works to report problems so crews can address them in a timely way.

No motions or formal votes were recorded on the items presented in this segment of the meeting.