Woods Cross mayor: City will pay for 24 homes damaged by sewer backup
Apr 3, 2018, 11:13 PM | Updated: Apr 4, 2018, 1:09 am
WOODS CROSS — Dozens of angry homeowners stormed a regular scheduled city council meeting Tuesday night, demanding answers on who will foot the bill for the damages to 24 homes after a Feb. 27th city water main break caused sewage to back up into homes.
In the meeting, Mayor Rick Earnshaw addressed the issue, he explained while the city is not legally obligated to pay for the damages to the homes, he said, “that’s not who we are.”
Earnshaw, the council and two representatives from the city’s insurance company were there to take questions. They explained how they will be tapping into up to 10 percent of the annual city budget to cover the costs outside of what the insurance company won’t pay for.
“They’re going to work with us, that’s all I’d hoped for,” said Greg Steed, a homeowner whose home has upwards of $10,000 in damage and cleaning fees after the sewage backup. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
However, not everyone is optimistic.
Rhett Cleverly said, “They haven’t taken care of us yet.”
Cleverly worries about the timeline and how long it will take to get money-in-hand.
The city council will hold an emergency meeting Thursday, March 5, to discuss forgoing annual projects to ensure the city has enough money in the budget to pay the residents. They will also discuss passing a city ordinance to increase water taxes to start a “no-fault” fund for these types of emergencies.
Related: Woods Cross residents demand city fix damage after sewage floods 20 homes
