Phantom numbers add up to boatload of trouble for water billing

Some residents have discovered what has been described as a “phantom number” on their water bills for the past several years.

“If you add up these numbers the sum is less than amount due. That means there is a number there that is not there,” said Saratoga resident Chris Shannon who has experienced the mystery charge.

Shannon has three months of water bills for a piece of property he owns known as Orion Point. Those bills express the charge. For bills in the months of February, March and April, the individual line items did not add up to the total amount due, meaning there was an...