Dive Summary:
- Centex homes, the largest builder in the United States, owes $2.3 million to the city of Mount Dora, Fla. for connecting 435 residential properties to the city water and sewage system.
- The builder's attempts to pay were turned down by the city, who also mistakenly issued a $23,000 refund to the homebuilding firm.
- City Council members accepted a settlement from Centex which will include the current total amount plus impact fees to be paid within 45 days.
From the article:
Recently, city finance director Jim Williams resigned over the fiasco, but City Manager Mike Quinn said this week that no other employees will be disciplined.
The developer and the city must open talks before the end of September to determine whether the city should reimburse the developer for improvements that Centex made to Mount Dora's utilities, and for damages the builder says it suffered from what it described as "the failure of the city's reclaimed water system."
...mistakes happened because the city had never before accepted prepayments for utility connections and had no system to do so.
