[B]URLINGTON — The University of Vermont has been shelling out extra for water.
Because of an issue with a water meter at UVM’s University Heights dorms, the school has overpaid the city of Burlington about $2 million in water costs over about a decade.
Another factor obscuring the overages was the fact that the affected dorms were an addition to campus. UVM expected to see an uptick in water use with the new buildings, Speidel said.
“We added 800 new beds. We knew there was going to be an increase in our water bill,” Speidel said.
He said UVM fully expects the city will pay it back. “The city has been great in coming forward quickly,” Speidel said.
City councilors were notified of the issue through a memo from the public works director to the city finance board. Chapin Spencer wrote that meter identification numbers were mixed up during the installation at UVM, leading to the college being charged the incorrect rate for the water used at University Heights. The error wasn’t noticed until the college asked the city to take a look, according to the memo.
“While a significant issue, the total overbilling accumulated over a number of years and the City’s credit rating agency chose to upgrade the City’s credit rating to A2 even after being alerted to this issue,” Spencer wrote.
The auditing firm KPMG won a contract to audit all of Burlington’s 99 water meters, starting with 25 on the UVM campus. The firm will be paid $63,250 for its work.
As for reimbursing the college, Speidel said it will be ironed out.
“We have a good relationship with them. We’re confident we’ll come to a conclusion that makes sense,” Speidel said.
