By John Howell
Batesville city officials on Tuesday discussed requiring increased deposits for gas and water connections to offset losses when customers move without paying their final bills.
“It happens all the time,” City Clerk Susan Berryhill told the mayor and aldermen during a 1 p.m. work session set for the fee discussion. Residential gas and water connection deposits are both presently set at $100 for renters and $50 for homeowners.
The city officials also discussed increasing sewer connection fees for large users and policies for charging for extending water and gas lines to customers outside city limits.
No action were taken during the work session, but discussion about the charge for a 113 Vick Street homeowner to receive city natural gas service resulted in a unanimous vote in the homeowner’s favor during the regular meeting.
Donald Chastain told the mayor and aldermen during their March 15 meeting that city hall personnel in 2014 and again recently had told him that his city charge for connecting to gas would be $150. After the homeowner purchased a gas furnace and arranged for installation, he learned that the city would charge $750 for the gas line connection because a city crew would have to bore under Vick Street to install a gas line to reach the home.
 Aldermen voted unanimously to charge Chastain $150, “because of a miscommunication on our part that caused him to to rely on the smaller figure of $150 … “ Assistant city attorney Colmon Mitchell said, advising alderman Bill Duggar on language for the motion for the lowered charge.  The motion passed unanimously.