Some Collierville residents recently noticed their utility bills were unreasonably high, and after some digging, town officials realized one of their own employees was at fault.

Town staff started receiving complaints from residents in mid-February as customers noticed an unusual spike in their utility bills. Staff in the utility department investigated the matter and discovered the employee was neglecting to read the meters.

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An average Collierville utility bill covering water, sewer, sanitation and stormwater fees can run $70 to $80 a month, with larger homes reaching in the neighborhood of $100.

The employee had worked for the town since Dec. 6, 2021, and was fired due to the failure to perform his duties. Town officials declined to identify the employee.

“Although customers are seeing higher than normal bills, they are being billed correctly for their usage over the several month period,” John Fox, utilities director, said in a statement. “This doesn’t in any way take away from the severity and confusion caused by the meter reader who was terminated for his actions. Our priority is responding to our residents’ concerns and sharing what information we know while we continue the investigation.”

The town’s meter reader system self-corrects so it's unclear how long the since-terminated employee was doing this.

If he put in the same meter read month after month, his recording read at zero consumption. A “zero read” is the base amount of usage and can vary between homes. The problem is the meter itself kept going up, so when someone came behind him to get the read, it would show the actual consumption for those two months.

The town has an alarm system on its meter software that alerts of an unusually high reading in a month, but it doesn’t notify for a zero reading. Currently, the town is seeing many alarms on affected meters.

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The town is still determining the number of homes affected. Each month, readers look at over 19,200 meters. The routes are separated into five billing cycles and 35 routes. Usually, employees read the same cycle and route monthly unless one employee gets behind or is out. The town said its staff becomes familiar with the location of readers by staying on the same route, and it is more efficient. Between 300 and 400 meters can be read in one day by a person.

The town is continuing to investigate the matter. Shelby County provides utility assistance, but the program is designed for those facing financial hardship. Collierville residents are eligible but may not qualify in this instance due to the parameters.