Fredonia Trustee Jon Espersen defended the village this week over a woman’s $4,000 water bill.

Ashley DiFrancesco called the OBSERVER to complain about the bill for a three-month period. She alleged that previous bills over the same period of time were for between $400 and $600.

Espersen disagreed with that, in his own phone call. He stated that over the last three years, bills for three-month quarterly periods at her property– a Brigham Road apartment building, home to five people — averaged exactly $5,103.

“She just purchased that (property), and shame on her for not knowing what the water bills were,” Espersen said.

It was alleged to the OBSERVER that Fredonia refused to replace a water meter after two plumbers stated a new one was needed. Espersen pushed back on that too, stating that an apartment building is considered a commercial property and the village does not install meters on commercial properties.

“How would the village like us to replace a water meter at Walmart?” he cracked.

Replacing the meter would cost about $3,000, Espersen continued, adding that it is in a very hard to reach space. “What she should do is get a meter that we can put outside, so she can actually read it,” he suggested.

Another point of contention is that Mayor Michael Ferguson allegedly never returned calls. Espersen stated that other village officials called and left voice mails that were never returned.

The trustee said the village water department is willing to help people who think they have water bill problems. “If the water department sees a bill is out of whack, they will call and see if there are problems. We’ve been able to resolve many problems that way,” he said.

At one point, he said there was a large bill at an apartment building similar in size to the Brigham Road site in question. It turned out a tenant was running the shower all night to help herself sleep.

Espersen attempted to bat down rumors around Fredonia that the village is overcharging some people on water. He said everyone’s getting a higher charge because the village raised its water rate again: to $7.60 per 1,000 gallons, from $7 per 1,000, as of June 1. Fredonia trustees quietly approved the rate hike as part of the 2025-26 village budget. Sewer rates also increased from $7 to $8 per 1,000 gallons.

Espersen said he has received numerous negative communications regarding the story, which ran in the OBSERVER July 23. They frustrate him.

“The village trustees and mayor — we deserve some criticism for stuff we’ve done,” he said. “But stuff like this, we don’t deserve it… It’s not her home, it’s Brigham Road apartments.”