Requiem for a meter reader

Posted at 4:02 PM on December 13, 2007 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

To a list that includes buggywhip factories, elevator operators and righthanded sluggers in Twins uniforms, we can add another vanishing species in these parts: meter readers.

The Duluth City Council will vote Monday on spending $9.5 million on a system that will replace the need for 10 employees to walk from house to house, reading 53,811 meters, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

In Duluth’s case, a person would drive around the city using a GPS map and a laptop, said John Hall, the city’s chief administrative officer. After the van comes near a meter device, it would send a signal to a laptop registering the reading. A light would go off on the laptop, letting the driver know a reading was taken.

Nationwide, there were 45,000 meter readers in 2006 with a median income of about $29,000. Only 440 are left in Minnesota, the Labor Department says, with a mean salary of $40,720.

Comments (1)

That is a loss for the community! One less person around who can make sure our communities are safe.

Posted by Larry Reed | December 13, 2007 10:17 PM

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