Lind resident demands refund

LIND — A local woman is demanding the town return more than $5,350 she paid to connect to municipal water and sewer services after town officials failed to provide an ordinance and fee schedule.

Resident Briana Osborn said the town charged her $500 each for water and sewer connection services in April, then added another $5,350 for installing a water line and meter to her property.

She paid the funds, even though the town couldn’t back up its charges with existing documentation.

“They had us over a barrel,” she said during a telephone interview Monday, noting she needed water for her new home.

Osborn has been attempting to get copies of the documents ever since.

She appeared during a Town Council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 24, to publicly request the documentation.

Without public works employees, Mayor Paula Bell took her money and hired a contractor to dig a hole and install a very short section of pipe from the water main to a new meter.

Under state law, that’s an expense to be borne by the municipality, not a homeowner. The home owner is responsible for the connection from the meter to the home, a distance 40 times longer that cost Osborn only $1,200, she said.

Osborn appeared at the Town Council meeting last Tuesday to ask publicly for the records the town is mandated to provide.

Instead of getting a direct answer, Mayor Paula Bell became defensive first claiming the documents were filed with an attorney, they claiming they have yet to be completed.

The mayor tried to shut down Osborn, telling her to meet with her privately instead of airing the concerns publicly.

“We’ll get together,” the mayor said.

Osborn pressed for the documents.

“So, you’re just holding my money for no reason,” Osborn said.

First, Bell said they were being reviewed by an attorney, they Bell changed her statement, saying the ordinance isn’t completed.

“Print out a proof of the ordinance for the fees that I’ve paid,” Osborn demanded.

Bell attempted to avoid the question by asking if anyone in the Osborn home is sick.

“No, not that it’s relevant,” Osborn replied.

“I would like to request my money be returned,” she continued, to which Mayor Bell said, “We’ll have to remove the meter.”

“There’s a lot of injustice happening,” Osborn said.

On Monday, Aug. 30, Osborn said she received another bill for water services for more than $1,000, without any further documentation.

The Journal requested copies of all the related documents on Wednesday, Aug. 25. At press time, the town had yet to comply with the public records request made under Revised Code of Washington.

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Roger Harnack, Publisher

Roger Harnack is co-owner and publisher of Free Press Publishing. An award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher who grew up in Eastern Washington, he's one of only two Washington state journalists ever to receive the international Golden Quill for editorial/commentary writing. Roger is committed to preserving local media, and along with it, a local voice for Eastern Washington.

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