A debate over whether a resident should have to backpay her garbage bill for the months she did not have a can continued.
Resident Wanda Vowell came before the board again asking that the board remove the back payment she incurred while moving from one home to the other. In a previous meeting, she said they were cleaning out a home on Wagon Wheel Drive and moved to their new home in Weir.
She said they did not have a can for 15 months. Vowell said she finally requested a can, but it was never picked up. She said after she initially came before the board, Supervisor Chris McIntire contacted the driver of the District 3 route to inform him to pick up Vowell’s tonnage.
Vowell said she doesn’t believe that she owes the payment.
“You sat here in open meeting and you admitted that you were taking your garbage from one house to another,” McIntire said.
“I did say that,” Vowell said. She said she didn’t get a can because she knew she would have to pay for two and she was didn’t want to haul things from one house to the other.
McIntire told her that she indeed received the service for the county.
“Why did it take you so long to request a can?” Supervisor Greg Fondren asked. She said that it took that long because they were still in between houses.
McIntire said it didn’t come up on the 911 because there was already a structure there.
“The lower barn was pictured on the card they sent out,” Vowell said.
After looking into a Attorney General’s opinion a decision between a resident and the City of Petal, Board Attorney Kasey Young said it would have be factual evidence for the back payment to be waived.
Board President Joey Stephenson said he’s had a similar incident in his district and it’s something he’s had to do himself.
“The house beside me stayed vacant and I kept paying the garbage bill,” she said.
After the conversation, it was determined that Vowell did have to pay the back payment. Vowell said she didn’t want to give up or just complain, she wanted to fight.
“If it can help someone else, then I’m alright with that,” she said.
