Officials are venting their frustration with a major contractor working in The Villages.
From water to trash pickup, Jacobs is a major part of daily life for thousands of Villagers. It was recently announced that Jacobs will be taking over trash collection in the southern end of The Villages.
However, officials are not necessarily enamored with Jacobs’ performance.
Community Development District 1 Supervisor Kathy Porter said she has had four leaks from pipes connected to her home in the Village of Rio Ponderosa. She said that leak No. 4 was found to be on “her” side of the property.
“It cost me $500 to fix, so that one’s on me,” she said.
Porter said it was nearly impossible to get Jacobs to respond to the leak. When a technician finally showed up, he complained that her problem was one of 100 calls for service he was being dispatched to for repair.
Porter acknowledged that the burden on a single technician was far too heavy.
“I am very unhappy with Jacobs,” Porter said. “There responses are inadequate to say the least.”
CDD 1 Board Chairman Rocky Hyder agreed with Porter’s assessment of the diminished quality of service from Jacobs.
“There has been a noticeable change in the level of service provided by this company,” Hyder said.
Community Development District 4 Board Cliff Wiener said residents have been the ones to suffer because of lack of response from Jacobs.
“As these companies grow and get big, it only gets worse, it doesn’t get better,” Wiener said.
Have you experienced problems with Jacobs? Share your story at news@villages-news.com
