Water bills for the past 3 months (January, February, March) have been sent out. Tacked onto some of them is the $250 fine for not upgrading the water meter transistors, as became required since last year to begin tracking water usage in real time, the City of Beacon's Administrator Chris White announced during last night's City Council Meeting.

"People who didn't sign up to have their water meter transistors replaced are getting an automatic fine of $250," he said.

He reported that 85% of residents did have their water meter transistors upgraded, leaving 15%, or "several hundred people" who have not responded and are subject to this fine. He did leave room for "amnesty," as he called it, where residents who did not upgrade have 3 weeks in which to do so. After April 21, that charge will stay, he said.

To reverse the fine, people need to make an appointment by calling Vepo, the company making the switch, at 877-860-8376

"Make an appointment, for late in May or in June, and then the $250 charge fined will be reversed...Set up an appointment, no questions asked," he stressed.

Mayor Kyriacou touted benefits of the new water meter transistors, stating that they track water usage in real time, which people can see by logging in. Additionally, the system will send an alert to people if there is a water leak and usage spikes.

The Mayor explained that water bills are sent every 3 months, so advance warnings of leaks is useful to catch within this new mechanism.