GILBERT, AZ — An independent audit found no evidence of systemwide water meter failures in Gilbert, but it did identify some residential customers who were overbilled.
The findings follow months of concerns from some Gilbert residents who questioned why their water bills had increased so dramatically.
The town hired Kimley-Horn and Associates to conduct an independent review of water meter accuracy, historical water use, billing records and customer service logs.
Over more than six months, auditors reviewed more than 93,000 utility accounts, six years of billing data, millions of transactions, and hundreds of water meters and meter radios.
The conclusion: no systemic issues with Gilbert's billing system or water meter infrastructure. But the audit did flag specific accounts, about 381 residential accounts as potentially overbilled, and about 941 as potentially underbilled.
The town says each flagged account will be reviewed individually before any credits or adjustments are made, and affected customers will be contacted directly.
The audit also recommends improvements to billing operations, data management, and internal processes.
Councilmember Yung Koprowski said the audit was worthwhile.
"It was in best interest for transparency, and we did find some things we can take action on." Koprowski said.
Officials say affected customers will be contacted directly as additional account reviews continue.
The report also recommends improvements to billing processes, collaboration between departments and performance monitoring.
Officials say they will continue reviewing customer accounts, implement the audit's recommendations and expect to return to normal billing procedures later in the year.
The town says the full report can be found here.
