Elton woman fighting $7,000 water bill

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - A water bill of more than $7,000 would cause many homeowners to go into a panic. A woman who received such a bill is extremely upset, since it appears the Town of Elton may force her to pay it.

Keisha LaFosse was stunned to receive a water bill saying she used more than one million gallons in about a month.

“I was shocked. It’s an 18-day bill. And I could not believe. It was astronomical stating we used over a million gallons of water,” said LaFosse.

So far, she’s told she’s responsible for it. And LaFosse said she needs help.

“The town will not help me. I’ve spoken with them several times, tried to follow chain of command and do as necessary and go through each cycle and I can get no help,” she said.

LaFosse lives outside of Elton and paid to have water piped to her house. There was a leak on her side of the meter, but that meter is a half mile from her home on property owned by the Town of Elton.

She said she never saw a leak. Once she became aware of it, she said she paid for the part and that her husband and father-in-law repaired it.

Now, LaFosse thinks it’s unfair for the town to make her pay the usage. She also questions whether the town’s operation of the water system may have caused the leak.

Town Attorney Mike Holmes would not appear on camera but said the water went through the meter, the charge is appropriate and the Town Council will decide if they should provide LaFosse with some relief.

Elton gets water from the East Allen Parish Water District and pays for it. The attorney general finds it’s almost always illegal for towns to forgive high water bills, so the best LaFosse may be offered is a payment plan she never imagined.

The Town Council will decide how to handle LaFosse’s water bill at its March 1 meeting at 6 p.m.

They will also consider salary increases for the mayor, police chief, and council members. The proposed salary increases were introduced at a special meeting on Feb. 13.