A Woodland man has gone for over a year without water in his home due to his refusal to pay garbage fees to the City.
Terry Krebser was in front of Woodland City Hall on Jan. 12 holding a formal protest. Krebser passed out flyers to fellow residents protesting the City’s termination of his water and sewer services after he did not pay his garbage bill, he says because he no longer needed those services.
Krebser said he had money to pay for garbage, but chose not to pay because he did not use the service. Krebser works as a longshoreman at The Port of Vancouver.
"This is not about the money, because I can afford to pay my bills," he said. "This is about citizens being required to pay for a service that some don’t need."
Krebser owes the City over $600, officials said. He has not had water or sewer services since October 2010 and continues to be billed for the garbage service he does not use.
When Krebser first asked City officials to opt out of his garbage bill, they told him if he quit paying they would turn off his water. Under current city ordinance, Woodland provides a third-party garbage service, and requires all citizens who live in the City to pay for garbage services whether used or not under city ordinance 8.08.090.
"It’s not right the City charges me for a service that I don’t use," he said. "There is no reason for them to turn my water off because I refuse to pay a garbage bill when I always paid my water bill on time. This is ridiculous for a City to operate like this."
Krebser has a lawsuit pending in Cowlitz County court against the City of Woodland, accusing the City of creating a monopoly, which he said is unconstitutional in the State of Washington. Krebser is suing the City for over $300,000 in property damages and emotional distress from not having water for over a year.
Woodland residents pay utility bills that include charges for garbage, water and sewer services. Krebser said he was told by City officials he will continue to be charged for garbage as long as he lives in Woodland.
"He failed to pay his utility bill,’’ confirmed Woodland Mayor Grover Laseke. "He has a dispute over the garbage portion of it. Our ordinances require you have a garbage account and that we collect garbage at your house. It’s been that way for a number of years. Once his bill got to the point where it was unpaid, we shut off his water because that’s what they do when you don’t pay your utility bill.’’
Laseke said that different services, such as water and garbage, are lumped together on one utility bill and residents are not allowed to separate different parts of the bill. The newly-elected mayor didn’t plan to seek any changes in City policy as a result of the dispute.
"Mr. Krebser has filed a lawsuit against the City, it’s in litigation so we feel we should let that process run its course,’’ Laseke said. "It’s something that originally happened back in Oct. 2010, long before I took office. I am renewing the matter at the moment, but I’m not planning any changes.’’
