NILES — A resident noted concerns about snow on a route frequented by semi-trucks and inconsistent billings as issues brought before city council at a recent meeting.

At Wednesday’s regular meeting, Dee Sebben, a Warren Avenue resident, questioned why Hunter Street, where snow from last month’s storm still remained, was not a priority.

“When semis go up and down that street, the last snowfall that we had, our street got plowed — Warren Avenue; but Hunter Street didn’t get plowed until like, two or three days later,” Sebben said. “I know there was a lot of snow, I understand that. But it was a sheet of ice. Don’t you think if semi-trucks go up there, it should be a priority?”

Councilman Aaron Johnstone, D-2nd Ward, explained that he had received calls from Sebben over the weekend, and that her question was the priority of which crews plow the truck routes, as they have specific routes they have to follow.

Sebben asked about her utility bill, explaining that she understood vacation and holiday, but she still wanted to know why she received a 36-day electric bill.

“I understand we didn’t get snow until a week ago, but we got 36-day electric bills; some people got 45 days — I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Sebben said.

Mayor Steven Mientkiewicz said that, periodically throughout the year, it is due to staffing and inclement weather, a problem he said the city has recognized.

“That issue is specifically because of the manual release that had to be developed on the electric meters, which are an upcoming electric meter upgrade project,” Mientkiewicz said. “We’re moving to an AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) system that’s going to absolutely fix that issue. As with the water meters, the reason it’s not coinciding is because of the electric meters.”

Mientkiewicz said the water meter project is “pretty much all completed” and should be finalized this spring, with electric meters to follow.

“Once those AMI meters are all installed, we’ll be able to set both water to one day, 30 days, 60 days — whatever we choose to do, it’ll be a 30-day read,” Mientkiewicz said. “Until the manual reads are eliminated, and due to static issues periodically throughout the year and the inclement weather throughout the year, that’s a problem, that’s always been a problem, we’ve identified that.”

Mientkiewicz said the software is in the final state of the upgrade, which should be completed July 24.

Johnstone said he understood the physical meter read was 45 days, but questioned whether they could put an “amount due” and cap it at 30 days.

“They’re still going to pay the same amount, there’s 12 months, there’s only so many billing cycles,” Johnstone said.

He said he’s seen online concern about people on fixed incomes, expressing sympathy for those with a suddenly higher bill than expected.

“It’s the same bill they’ll have in a two-month span, but they’re out of pocket now and it’s higher in one month and lower in the other when they’re trying to budget,” Johnstone said.

Mientkiewicz said they could put the residents on a three-month payment plan, as the city does with all hardship cases, adding that they could do either.

Council President Doug Sollitto said officials need to find a way to make the system cut off the bill after 30 days, regardless of when it was issued, because it creates a scenario where residents would be bill-chasing, going back and forth between payment plans.