Hillsborough’s Meter Troubleshooter Is Looking for Help
Meter Services Supervisor Tyrone Hodge strives to ensure that the thousands of water meters in the town’s water service area are working properly.
As Hillsborough grows, so does the number of meters Hodge looks after. When he started working for the town nearly 13 years ago, there were 5,000 water meters in the service area. Now there are more than 7,000.
Hodge is looking to hire someone to work with him to help repair, replace and test meters and to connect and disconnect water service. He hopes to find a conscientious person who isn’t hesitant to ask questions and who enjoys working independently.
“I love the job,” Hodge said. “I love working outside, working with my hands. I don’t have anyone breathing down the back of my neck.”
The job involves a good bit of customer service. People tend to spot Hodge checking a water meter in his bright green shirt or hoodie, and they want to know what he is doing.
“I’m a people person,” Hodge laughed. “I talk to them.”
Hodge spends part of his time most days checking meters that have produced unusual readings such as high usage, low usage or no usage at all. If someone asks why he’s checking the meter, he doesn’t mind explaining what he’s doing and why.
He also takes the time to help customers determine whether they might have a leak and to share how they might check for a leak in a toilet tank.
“I give advice,” Hodge said. “I’ll meet up with customers and explain to them what we’re looking at and show them how to read the meter if they don’t know how. That way, they can look at the meter on their own and see if they might have a leak. I tell them how to check the toilets to see if the flapper needs switching out.”
He recommends adding drops of food coloring to a toilet tank to see if water is escaping into the bowl due to a failing flapper. He also takes time to explain to customers how a small leak quickly can add up to a large bill. His go-to example is a toilet that leaks 0.08 gallons per minute. That small leak times 60 minutes times 24 hours for 30 days adds up to a lot of water. To be exact — 3,456 gallons. And that example usually spurs a customer to fix the leak right away.
There are a few things Hodge doesn’t love about his job. Spiky bushes, yellow jackets and downpours come to mind. But the variety of scenery and the opportunity to work with other town staff, including utilities and customer service employees, help make up for the less-fun moments.
The satisfaction in helping customers with meter problems also helps outweigh the unpleasantness of having to disconnect customers who have not paid water bills.
“Sometimes customers just want to be heard, so I hear them out, answer their questions and then provide them with the proper information on how to get their service reconnected,” Hodge said. “You’ve got to put yourself in their shoes and think how you want someone to talk to you. I’m respectful.”
Meter services technician
The technician position requires a high school diploma or GED certificate and less than one year of experience with equipment operation or water and sewer line maintenance and repair. A North Carolina driver's license is required, and having a good driving record is key.
The application for this position is available online and will be accepted through April 14.
Job fairs
The Town of Hillsborough is participating in the Local Government Career Expo from 1 to 4 p.m. June 8 at the N.C. State McKimmon Center. Visit logocareerexpo.com.
Central Carolina Women in Business also is offering a job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 21 at the Whitted Human Services Center, 300 W. Tryon St. in Hillsborough. The job fair is open to women and men. Central Carolina Women in Business is a program of the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce.
