Water shutoffs spark outrage in Warsaw

On President’s Day, Macy Hardy of Warsaw noticed a man in a Warsaw town truck parked in her driveway near her water meter. She opened her door and asked, “Is there something wrong with the meter?” Hardy told Duplin Journal the man replied no, and that the water’s being shut off.

She said she pulled the receipt on her phone to show him the bill was paid, but according to Hardy, he refused to view the receipt and told her that she was “on the list” and he had to “turn it off.”

Hardy added the man admitted the town was “having computer problems,” but proceeded to cut off her water service anyway.

When Hardy contacted town hall around 12:05 p.m., she said she was again told the town was having computer issues and was asked to email her receipt to the town clerk. She did and her service was restored around 3:10 p.m.

Hardy was far from alone in having water service terminated by the Town of Warsaw despite having paid their bill.

Warsaw Mayor Wesley Boykin, in an interview with Duplin Journal, said he first became aware of the issue while he was at a meeting with the town’s zoning specialist.

“When I was at town hall, I experienced an extremely explosive situation,” Boykin said, adding he heard the commotion at the window where customers pay their water bills and attempted to intervene.

Boykin said the confrontation escalated to the point police had to be called. He added he did not believe the town staff handled the situation appropriately.

“My process of decision making would have been different,” Boykin said.

On Feb. 16, Commissioner Ebony Wills-Wells posted a notice via social media explaining that the town was experiencing a technical malfunction with the water payment system, which resulted in service disconnections for many citizens who had already paid their bills.

“​I have formally advised the board of commissioners, the town manager, and the finance clerk that all disconnections must cease immediately. Work orders have been prioritized to restore service to all affected households at no cost,” wrote Wills-Wells.

Boykin said he was not unaware of the details of what had transpired until after 5 p.m. on President’s Day when he saw a message from Duplin Journal asking him to comment on the situation.

Town Manager Lea Turner was not in the office on Monday or Tuesday. Boykin said neither he nor the town’s zoning officer were aware she was out of the office. Duplin Journal left several messages and emails for Turner between Feb. 16 and Feb. 20. She responded late Friday afternoon by email.

“I was out of the office on Monday when (the cutoffs) occurred,” Turner said in the email. “I was notified there was a high number of cutoffs which was out of the normal. With me being in a conference, I was unable to investigate. However, on my lunch break, I did advise staff to stop cutoffs and reconnect all services until the problem could be resolved. On Tuesday morning, my staff reviewed the billing information and resumed a normal cutoff schedule.”