“Something needs to be said”

At the meeting table of the Walhalla City Council there appears to be consensus that no individual councilman or city employee has the right to settle a water bill complaint without proper procedure.  One councilman’s action to lower an abnormally high bill of one customer below the minimum charge, the city utilities director suggested, undercut the authority of City Hall office workers and caused upset.  Councilman Tjay Bagwell admitted that he acted without realizing there’s an ordinance on the books that deals with adjustments.  Bagwell’s colleague, Jennifer Crawford, said what happened is evidence that the city must follow a protocol, and Councilman Lamar Bailes said the dispute should have gone to the utilities committee for a recommendation to the full council without a decision “on the spot.”