COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) - A city-owned utility company in Mississippi turned off water service at a 144-unit apartment complex for several hours because a management company continued to miss water payments.
Columbus Light and Water General Manager Todd Gale told the Commercial Dispatch that service at Cypress Park Apartments was disconnected Friday. He said the utility company had trouble reaching the apartment managers. He would not disclose how long the management company had been late with payments.
“I’ll just say it’s a substantial amount of nonpayment,” Gale said.
A resident of the complex, Rosheda Moseley, said the disconnection came as a shock, especially since water is included in the rent payment to Beztak Properties, based in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
“All I know is I’ve been here since March and haven’t been late on a rent payment, not even once,” Moseley said.
Gale said Columbus Light and Water Chief Financial Officer Mike Bernsen reached Angelique Del Campo, a manager at Beztak Properties, and struck a payment agreement to have water service reconnected at the complex at about 4 p.m. Friday, roughly eight hours after the disconnection.
Del Campo attributed the failure to pay the water bill to a mix-up with the complex owner. Ownership changed hands recently, she indicated, but the management company is responsible for collecting fees and paying bills.
“It caught us by surprise,” Del Campo said. “When you go through a transition of ownership … they just didn’t give us the information we needed about the bill. But we’re making sure we get this straightened out so this doesn’t ever happen again.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.