Do you get a water bill from St. John Parish? If you answered YES, then you received a notice about the water quality of the LaPlace system. Do you drink the water?

Do you receive an AVERAGED or an ESTIMATED bill?

It doesn’t matter because you’re paying more then you should. People are just paying the bill because they know calling the Parish office is a waste of time.

If you do call the Parish about the bill, they still want your money. PERIOD. Pay a little extra each month until you pay the entire balance.

Do you know people go to charitable organizations for assistance to pay this bill?

This is outrageous! Can someone please tell me why elderly people are paying for water that you know they could not have used?

Who caused this problem? The PARISH or the CUSTOMER. This Parish Council has done nothing to correct the situation. They’ve talked for HOURS during their meetings but still NO action.

Talking for two and a half years and no resolution.

Maybe we haven’t found the right company to give our money to. They do ask questions about the billing practice. But if you REALLY listen to what is being said, you understand why the customer has to pay the bill.

Here’s an idea, let’s get to the “root” cause of the problem and fix IT. And I don’t mean the meters. How much illegal money has the Parish collected from YOU?

Maybe they need the money to pay for the Council Chamber renovation and new video equipment.

I read my water meter, it may not be the same day that’s on my bill but I wanted to see how much money they would STEAL from me each month. The Parish installed a new meter on Saturday, July 23, 2016, and my “AVERAGING” bill is above what I was paying before. Two people in the home, buying bottle water, don’t wash vehicles at home and bathe once a day.

It’s time for an investigative reporter to look at this.

— Richard Marino, LaPlace