08/05/2026
Some residents in Lathrop were shocked earlier this week to find substantial increases to their water bills and reported usage totals that didn't add up.
Much of the confusion centered on the water usage totals from one month to the next, which is listed on the bill. Customers believed the city had seemingly added a zero to the end of the total usage for the month. For example, a bill would read that a customer had used 15,000 gallons (which is the lifetime total of the physical meter) through the month of June, and 16,000 gallons through the month of July, which would result in a usage of 1,000 gallons for the month of July. But in this instance, the bill itself would have shown a usage of 10,000 gallons for the month, leading customers to believe the city seemingly adding a zero to the end of the total usage and resulting in a higher bill.
However, city officials said Wednesday that the problem wasn't an errant zero added to the monthly usage, but actually zeros missing on the end of the June and July totals.
So in that same example, as the city explained, the one-month usage of 10,000 gallons would be correct, but the total meter reading would actually be 150,000 gallons through June and 160,000 gallons in July.
City officials said Wednesday they have contacted the company through which they conduct billing to see about correcting those two figures in future bills to add clarity.
“Unfortunately, it seems like it has gotten blown out of proportion a little bit,” said Lathrop City Administrator Bob Burns. “If someone has an issue with their bill, we would ask them to come in and see us, or contact us in some way, and we can check it. We're not going to overcharge people on purpose. We found one mistake and corrected that. The rest of the people who have come in, it's been something we can explain.”
Burns said that the meters are read electronically each month by a representative of Decker Construction, the town's water service contractor. They don't use estimations; if a meter doesn't read properly, the representative will go to the location and physically read the meter.
Burns added that if the city notices a high usage on a property, Decker will check to see if the meter is continuously running, which would signal a leak in the house.
While that might explain some of the confusion surrounding water bills, customers are noticing a substantial uptick in the amount they are paying this summer.
As reported in The Leader on April 30, the City of Lathrop increased its water and sewer rates this past spring. That came after the city received a water rate increase from its wholesale supplier, the City of Kansas City. For City of Lathrop water customers, the minimum cost for the first 1,000 gallons went from $14.19 up to $15.04, and each 1,000 gallons thereafter went up from $11.42 to $12.11.
Since sewer outflows aren't meter-measured, sewer rates are based on water usage. This is shown on the city bill as the “sewer-related” charge. In April, the sewer rate went up from $17.50 for the first 1,000 gallons each month and $9.17 for every 1,000 gallons thereafter, to $17.75 for the first 1,000 gallons and $9.87 for every 1,000 gallons thereafter.
If usages fall between 1,000-gallon benchmarks, the remaining usage is prorated.
For instance, under the old rates, a household using 5,000 gallons in a month would have paid $59.87 for water and $54.18 for sewer. Under the new rates, that same household would pay $63.48 for water and $57.23 for sewer. Residents also tend to use more water in the summer months than the winter months.
Water and sewer are just two of the charges on the monthly bill in Lathrop. The bill also includes the monthly trash pick-up fee, primary fee, taxes and any applicable balances due.
~ This story will be featured in next week's edition of The Clinton County Leader. If you enjoy the coverage, please consider subscribing to the newspaper. (816) 539-2111 ~
Correction: Story edited to reflect that the meter reading total figures are over the lifetime of the physical meter, and not year to date.
