City Paid a Pretty Penny for Its 2-Cent Water Bill

Former Covina Mayor Frank Haven promises to put in his 2 cents for water; after all, those two pennies cost the city $15.

A city accountant has apologized for sending Haven and his wife, Shirley, a notice that their water would be shut off unless they paid 2 cents owed on a previous water bill.

Stan McCartney, city finance director, said the billing was made by a supervising accountant who mistakenly billed the Havens. The city usually does not issue notices when people owe less than the $15 it costs to deliver them, he said, but the clerk who normally sends the notices was on a holiday.

McCartney declined to name the accountant who issued two notices for bills of less than $15.

“It’s ridiculous that the city would spend $15 delivering a 2-cent bill,” Shirley Haven said.

She said that on Dec. 31, a city employee delivered a notice informing the couple to pay the 2 cents by Jan. 4 or have their water turned off. She said she had accidentally underpaid the previous water bill by writing a check for $96.04 instead of $96.06.