Special to the Record
Last week, city officials announced that it had been brought to their attention that many of the city’s water customers are experiencing delays in receiving their water bills and others had concerns that their bills were missing discounts and past payment records.
Since sending the May water bills, city officials stated they transitioned to a new billing software. Although the bill format is very similar, there are some differences, they stated. One new feature is a graph that compares recent water usage to past water usage.
Officials stated that water bills were sent out on schedule on July 3, however, due to an issue at the post office, there was a delay in delivery. The city’s printing vendor escalated the issue and we began receiving tracking updates. Officials said that beginning last week, they’ve heard positive responses from several residents who received their bills, and we expect all bills to arrive within the next few days.
Officials have also received reports that the Senior Discount is not clearly marked on the current bills. They stated that the discount is still being applied to eligible accounts and that they are working with the new billing system provider to see if they can clearly display these discounts on future bills.
As part of the transition to the new provider, there was a short downtime period during which the city could not access either the old or new system. Payments made during this period were carried over and applied as “conversion payments.” The payments were correctly processed, but may appear under “Current Charges” rather than as credited payments, which has caused confusion.
Officials said they expect that the next billing cycle will be much clearer, as all payments will now be fully processed within the Springbrook system.
If you have specific concerns or questions about your bill, city officials said please to reach out to them directly by contacting Chelsea 311 at (617) 466-4209 with any questions.