Donegal refuses to pay water bill
WHEELING, W.Va. – Donegal Township officials told Wheeling city officials this week that they have voted to not pay their bill to the Wheeling Water Department.
The township has been a water customer of the city of Wheeling for decades, according to attorney Lane Turturice, solicitor for the township, who attended Tuesday afternoon’s meeting of Wheeling City Council.
Turturice said the non-payment was a move they hoped would attract attention of city leaders who can help resolve their water contract issue, because so far the township has gotten nowhere with attempted negotiations.
“I actually represent your neighbor to the north, Donegal Township,” Turturice told city leaders at the end of Tuesday’s council meeting during the public forum section listed under “those wishing to be heard.”
Comments during this public forum section are limited to three minutes, and city officials listen but typically do not respond to any of the comments made on the record.
“The city of Wheeling for the last 40 years has provided water to those folks,” Turturice said of the people of Donegal Township. “The township’s contract with Wheeling expired in April 2020. My client has been attempting to get a dialogue going for a new contract since October 2020. I, personally as their attorney, have been writing letters, and sending emails and making phone calls with your water department since April of 2021. And unfortunately, I’ve gotten no cooperation whatsoever.”
The township solicitor said that after many attempts to resolve the water contract issue, Donegal officials took action in an attempt to spark a solution.
“My client in their last business meeting last month took the unfortunate steps and voted not to pay your bill, hoping that that might get someone’s attention and that we could try to get this resolved,” Turturice said. “It’s just a matter of bringing it to the right person’s attention – I think maybe – and getting everybody to the table to get it resolved.”
Turturice noted that the township had not had any discussions about this issue with Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron, who was in attendance at Tuesday’s council meeting.
“We’ve kind of followed the chain of command and left it at the water department,” Turturice explained, noting that he wanted to attend this week’s council meeting in person and make city leaders aware of the situation.
The township solicitor was accompanied by Tammy Iams, vice chair of the board of supervisors.
“She carries the sentiments of all five supervisors of the township,” Turturice said. “We desperately would like to get that resolved so that we can make sure that we maintain water service for their constituents.”
On Wednesday, Wheeling Water Superintendent Lori Siburt explained that service to Donegal Township will continue under the terms of the expired contract, and a new contract extension will be enacted once the city’s legal department finalizes the paperwork.
“It’s really not all that complicated,” Siburt said, noting that Wheeling’s Water Department provides services to a number of neighboring municipalities, from Valley Grove and various entities in Ohio County to Donegal Township in Pennsylvania. “We have several resale customers. Some of them have contracts for 40 years, some have contracts for 20 years.”
Siburt said services are still being provided and will continue, noting there was no need for a sense of urgency on the township solicitor’s part to get a new contract in place as soon as possible or to be enveloped in concern that service to customers will stop. Siburt said she has been in contact with Turturice on a number of occasions in the past and has referred him to the city’s legal department.
“I’m really not sure why he’s all wound up about it,” she said, indicating that the situation was a simple misunderstanding and overreaction on the solicitor’s part. “He seemed to be very upset about not having a contract. We are still providing them service. We also do their billing, and we take care of a lot of their paperwork.”
While the expiration of the contract was by no means a reason to abruptly terminate service, Siburt indicated, the township officials’ non-payment of the master meter bill could be considered a legitimate reason to turn off the tap. However, she indicated that is unlikely to happen.
“That would not be fair to their customers, who are paying their bills,” she said. “I don’t know where they would go to get their water.”