🚰Water meter issues CONFIRMED🚰

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As previously posted, I was one of the 500 Gilbert water customers randomly selected to participate in the Water Meter Audit being conducted by Kimley-Horn. 

I watched the 3/3/2026 Council briefing by Kimley-Horn and had a chance to talk with them about my experience. Remember, there was less than a 1% chance for me to be selected for the audit. It was a surprise to the Town and to Kimley-Horn.

I am extremely confident in being able to confirm many of the issues that have been found with the meters. The actual number of affected water customers will require further investigation.I WILL BE FOLLOWING THIS UP WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. I suspect that I will be filing a formal complaint with my findings. 

I stand by my position that the Town has been fraudulently billing water customers. I am not making any allegation here to confirm any intentional fraud. I am being very careful about making any allegations of wrongdoing.

Most issues discover thus far are related to water meters not being properly configured. 

THE FACTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Please read this part VERY carefully…

• The digital readout on the MUELLER meter ALWAYS reads in actual gallons regardless of any settings.
• Meters that are connected to the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) have an adjustable multiplier that can only be seen with a special test box at the actual meter and not anywhere else. You cannot see the multiplier setting on the local digital display.
• The multiplier can be adjusted at 0.1x, 1x, or 10x the actual water being used.
• This multiplier setting was set randomly by MUELLER at the factory and sent to the Town of Gilbert.
• This multiplier setting only affects the amount of water that gets REPORTED via the AMI to the billing system. It DOES NOT affect the local digital display on the meter.
• IT APPEARS THAT THE TOWN OF GILBERT MAY NOT HAVE CONSISTENTLY VERIFIED THIS SETTING OR OTHER CONFIGURATIONS WHEN INSTALLING METERS.
• It does not appear that the Town of Gilbert has or had an installation procedure or pre-installation checklist for installing and configuring new MUELLER meters or any meter for that matter.
• The Water Billing System cannot see the multiplier.
• The digital readout is not normally looked at by the Town if the AMI system is working.
• The AMI system was deployed throughout the Town starting in 2020.
• Of the 90,000+ meters, approximately 55,000 meters are on the AMI system.

There may be a small number of meters that have calibration or accuracy issues, but I have not been able to find enough information to determine if the accuracy of the MUELLER meters is a major issue. 

It appears that there may be some non-MUELLER meters experiencing accuracy issues due to age. I’m being very careful about this because the accuracy tests are still in progress.Now, as if that isn’t enough… there are several other issues that need to be addressed. This post will be WAY too long if I break them down here, but I will be providing in-depth information on www.investigategilbert.com.

Please be patient. I’m still really busy running a campaign and collecting signatures every day to get on the ballot. I’d appreciate everyone signing my petition. You can find a link at www.investigategilbert.com.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

There are several things that I will be outlining tonight and will post everywhere. For starters, go look at your meter. I will be able to provide some guidance based on what meter you have installed. I don't believe that MUELLER meters are bad meters when properly configured. In fact, I think they may be better than many of the older-style meters. However, I'm still waiting for audit results.

Don’t panic if you have a newer (less than a few months old) MUELLER meter. Your meters are most likely configured correctly and properly calibrated.

PLEASE GIVE ME ABOUT 24 HOURS to get all the data and information loaded on www.investigategilbert.com.

IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN PAYING YOUR BILL — Yes, about 6,000 residents haven’t been paying their bill. Do what you think is best for your situation. I’d anticipate late fees starting probably early summer. The Town was talking about that today during the Spring Financial Retreat. Personally, I’d pay what you think is a “normal” amount just to keep the balance a little lower, but that’s up to you.

I will be asking for anyone who:

1. had the meter audit done, or
2. had a water survey done DUE TO HIGH BILLS,

to reach out to me on www.investigategilbert.com.

I will create a special page and email for you. Again, give me just one day to get the email set up for you to contact me.We’re all in this together and we will get past this. I’ll do whatever I can to answer your questions. I will be asking the rest of the fine people with the Citizens Water Group (that’s you, Darrell) for help in analyzing all the information.

Thank you Gilbert!!

Bill Spence

P.S. Yes, i used AI to check my spelling and put the cool little icons on the post. 

Disclaimer: Everything here is based on my direct observation and information that I have obtained. While I have had numerous conversations with Gilbert town staff, MUELLER, Kimley-Horn, and others, I am not affiliated with nor am I speaking on their behalf.

On 2/25/2026, I received a knock on my door and was informed that I was one of 500 Gilbert water customers randomly selected to participate in the Water Meter Audit being conducted by Kimley-Horn under contract with the Town of Gilbert. As one of the most outspoken residents in Gilbert regarding water-related issues, the probability of me being selected and home at the time of the Audit, was extremely low—less than 1%. At the time of this posting, no one in the Town of Gilbert knows that I was selected, nor do they know what I have discovered.

Two individuals conducted the audit, which consisted of removing my existing meter, preparing it for shipping, and replacing it with a brand-new MUELLER meter that had been calibrated by the vendor. One worker was a Town of Gilbert Water Technician, and the other was an Audit Supervisor from AMKA Services, contracted directly by Kimley-Horn. Both were very professional and knowledgeable, and they allowed me to observe the entire process.

I asked many questions and documented everything with photos and video. These workers did not provide me with any “secret” or “scandalous” information. They were simply hardworking individuals on the front lines, doing a job surrounded by public frustration and emotion. They allowed me to observe the specific details of the water meter replacement and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) configuration. What I observed enabled me to continue my research into the water meter issues.

On 3/3/2026, I spoke directly with MUELLER and confirmed several of my findings.  I concluded that there are issues affecting water meters installed throughout the Town of Gilbert. 

Gilbert Sun News reports that approximately 55,000 of over 90,000 water meters are connected to the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).

I am aware of information showing meter configuration errors that led to both under-billing and over-billing. Combined with ridiculously high utility rates, these metering issues may have contributed to inaccurate billing and imposed significant financial hardship on Gilbert residents. 

I have been made aware of Gilbert correcting issues resulting in under-billing and making billing adjustments to collect the unpaid amount. However, I am not aware that any customers affected by over-billing have been formally notified or reimbursed by the Town of Gilbert.

I believe that the Town of Gilbert has been fraudulently billing water customers for several months, and possibly several years. I am not alleging that this activity was a conspiracy, a cover-up, or intentional.

I am calling for a full investigation into these findings and for complete public disclosure of all documentation identifying these issues. 

I will be releasing the full details and findings following the Kimley-Horn briefing to Council on 3/3/2026.