GOSHEN -- When Susan Hochstetler saw a city crew digging in the ground outside Tuesday morning, she asked what was going on.

They told her they were shutting off her neighbor's utilities. She figured it was because they didn't pay the water and sewer bill.

She didn't realize she was next. She and the residents of four other duplexes were among the 84 water and sewer customers disconnected Tuesday for nonpayment, said Tana Brooks, utilities billing manager for the city.

The problem is, she and her neighbors made their payments -- to the property management company hired by their landlord.

That same company went into bankruptcy, Hochstetler said, and never paid the utility bills.

"It was a mess," Hochstetler told the Goshen City Council a few hours after her utilities were reconnected. A new property management company took care of it, but she went several hours without any running water.

She said she would've liked some warning that her utilities were going to be disconnected.

Notices were sent to the property owners.

"The problem is we often don't know who the residents are," said Larry Barkes, city attorney. "Our customer is the owner of the building."

Council President Tom Stump suggested hanging a notice on doorknobs, but that's when Brooks pointed out the sheer volume. Tuesday was one of three monthly "disconnect days," and it was the heaviest one ever.

Between 30 and 40 accounts were paid up and reconnected between 4 and 5 p.m., Brooks said.

The problem with residents losing services they thought they paid for, though, is a tough one.

"It is something we need to talk about internally," said Mayor Allan Kauffman. "I don't know what the solution is."