Scotch Plains Council Ponders Improvements to Sewer Bill Process

Now that the billing deadline for Scotch Plains' sewer bill has officially passed, the township is starting to look ahead at ways to improve the process next year.

Township Manager Chris Marion told the mayor and council Tuesday night that after several months of meeting with residents and businesses to discuss the new charge, several concerns and issues continued to recur.

One thing people would like to see next year, he said, is the opportunity to pay the bill in installments, either twice a year or quarterly. Businesses would also like the bill as far in advance as possible so that they can better plan to pay for it.

The sewer bill was issued this year in September, nearly three months after it was approved on June 9. The township originally set the payment deadline for early October, but delayed it until Nov. 30 due to a host of unforeseen issues, including residents and businesses complaining that they didn't know the bill was coming and/or didn't have any idea just how much it would cost.

Residents were charged a flat rate of $250 this year, but businesses and non-profits were charged based on their water usage. The township had to work at great length to resolve some incorrect charges and other concerns, but when it was all said and done, the township collected $2,468,025.34. They were aiming for $2,459,800. Marion said the extra $8,000 would likely be applied toward next year's bill.

Marion said he met with most of the over 300 business owners who were charged by usage this year to help them understand the new charge. While doing so was necessary, he said, it also took up significant amounts of his workday.

Next year, residents' sewer bills will also be determined based on water usage. With that in mind, Marion said the township needs to determine a way to structure these meetings next year so to accommodate residents while not being operationally disruptive.

Township Attorney Brian Levine reminded Marion that the ordinance does not require him to meet with residents, but that they are technically required to submit a written appeal first.

"You didn't have to do the meetings this year, but you did them as a courtesy," Levine said.

Marion noted that he felt this courtesy was necessary given that it was the first year of the program, and that it will also be necessary next year when residents are billed based on usage for the first time.

Mayor Nancy Malool suggested that it may be in the best interest of the township for the council to appoint a committee of three people with experience with the sewer bill who would be responsible for meeting with residents, listening to their concerns, then bringing them to the point person to be addressed.

"(Marion) spent the better part of his week for a couple of months meeting with people, and I have no doubt that will only increase when the first bills go out next year," Malool said. "It's not a productive use of his time, but we want to remain responsive to residents' concerns."

In addition to improving the process for locals, the township is also hoping to clear up some of the issues it had on its end this year with the data collection.

Because of problems converting data from New Jersey American Water to the township, several bills this year inaccurately reflected water usage and thus included incorrect charges. As a result, the township had to work at length to resolve the number of incorrect bills it sent out and get them back to businesses before the deadline.

Marion said he is meeting with a representative from New Jersey American Water on Wednesday to discuss solutions to the problems the township faced this year and to explore alternative ways to collect the data.

"We want to make sure the data is correct," he said.

When the bill will come out next year and at what rate it will be based on has yet to be determined. Chief Financial Officer Lori Majeski said the township must first find out what its budgets to the Rahway Valley Sewer Authority and Plainfield Area Regional Sewer Authority will be. She noted that because of the volume of mail and the extent of work involved with processing the bills, she would prefer the bills not come out at tax time, but rather perhaps in March or April of next year.

Meters may be one way in the future to help businesses monitor their sewer output, Malool said. Other ideas tossed out at the meeting were looking into whether the bill could come out at the same time as the water bill and whether there's a way for residents to pay it online.

The council plans to have a workshop session in January to discuss the 2010 sewer bill at further length.