I read with delight reporter Luke Broadwater's article outlining plans for "smart" water meters for Baltimore customers ("City agency recommends Itron for big water meter contract," Nov. 4).
It is comforting to know that the plans of Baltimore public works director Al Foxx have been realized. It has been my pleasure to have worked closely with Mr. Foxx for several years to solve the inaccurate water meter readings in our community in Baltimore County.
Hopefully, counties that use Baltimore City water will piggy-back on this new technology to right-size their companion organizations and realize economic savings. Many residents in Baltimore's surrounding counties who use metered city water pay a sewer service charge based on their water usage, which is applied to their property taxes.
With proper transfer of data from the new meters, at least one Baltimore County department could be downsized with the advent of the automated system. There is plenty of time between now and 2017 to plan for this.
Hopefully, Baltimore County and others will study their procedures and effect these cost savings for taxpayers.
Rowland E. King, Towson
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