Professionalism and courtesy are lacking

Carpentersville residents' January water and sewer bill exhibits a 7 percent increase for what the trustees explain as needed revenue to cover operational expenses.

A recent personal incident provides proof that mismanagement and poor communication, not money, is the cause of our water, sewer and general village quandaries. The maxim that throwing more money at a problem does not make it better fully applies to the dysfunctional Carpentersville government.

Paying my October bill, I inadvertently paid a historical amount instead of the current owed amount. While I admit my mistake and own up to being human, my village could not afford any consideration, honesty or time consuming communication to rectify the problem.

Although my payment satisfied 70 percent of my bill, it wasn't enough to receive a courtesy letter or notification before they turned off my water. Even though we are good standing Carpentersville residents for eight years who had no missed or late payments, my family was granted no notification.

When my wife, while holding our 4-month-old infant in frigid weather, attempted to gain some insight on the issue with the village laborer turning off the water, he had little to say except for "pay your bill!"

I received the same reply from village staff when explaining my case on the phone. Their response? Pay your bill plus the delinquent fee and the water will be turned on sometime today.

They assured me that a notice had been mailed out and a door tag was placed on my residence, We never received nor saw either. They conveniently blamed the U.S. postal service for the lost billing and could not explain how I did not receive the door tag.

Their unprofessional attitude and insincere concern only solidified my belief about a mismanaged, incompetent community government.

As a Carpentersville resident I am growing tired of reading about village board bickering, secret meetings, weapon sales, domestic abuse issues and illegal immigration problems that are currently unsolvable at the national level.

I expect more from my local government -- like better roads, improved safety, common sense on commercial zoning and taxation -- and, oh, yeah -- some professionalism, common courtesy and understanding when dealing with residents.

Unfortunately, the only way to receive these common courtesies appears to be to move out of Carpentersville and relocate to a community where elected officials and their staff act more like adults and less like children.

Bill Maly

Carpentersville