12-01-09, Escott Norton Comments On His Fight With GWP Over $5474 Water Bill

Mr. Weber,

I just wanted to thank you for the work you do, and for compiling all of the links pertaining to my conflict.

It was not an easy choice to take on GWP. Over the last 8 years it took to design my house, get the plans approved and then to finally build the house, I worked with many very good people in City Hall, people who worked hard to support me in my quest to build a unique home that was not done in the normal way. I was going against the normal methods and it was not an easy process, but quite a few of the Glendale city employees stepped up and supported me, even though it meant more work for them. This included some of the GWP technicians and engineers. I had no wish to embarrass them or hurt the good relationships I had developed.

I tried to get the GWP management to see logic through all of the proper channels, behind the scenes, and as nicely as I could. It was incredibly frustrating to get nothing more than the brush-off, and worse to be treated like a thief! I went to the media and eventually to the City Council only after exhausting all other channels. The response from my fellow Glendale residents and my immediate neighbors has been uniformly positive and supportive, and that's after living with my construction for more than 2 years! In addition, Mayor Quintero has fiercely supported me from the first time I contacted him, and my guess is that once I went public, he had what he needed to stop GWP in their tracks, because it was less than 24 hours later that Mr. Steiger (GWP General Manager) called me and gave up the fight!

If there is a lesson in this (besides to read your own water meter!) it is that you should stand up for your rights. My case was so extreme that the utility had a hard time saying I was lying, and if the amounts were not so ludicrous it would have been an uphill battle, but it is our right to make the system work for US, not the other way around. I'm sure they are afraid that there will be an increase in people contesting bills, but maybe that is what they deserve for trying to strong-arm me on what was so obviously a ridiculous error.

Anyway, as the saying goes, "Keep fighting the good fight!" We may not always agree on the details, but the quest for logic and transparency in government and fairness to all citizens is what I call "the good fight"!

Sincerely,

Escott O. Norton