Cary Corrects Billing on Five Water Service Accounts

has completed a review and audit of high-use commercial water accounts and has determined that five accounts need billing and metering corrections during the month of May. 

Since 2010, the Village has taken steps to improve and modernize the oversight and management of utility billing and metering operations for the Village-owned water and sewer systems. The Village provides services for approximately 6,270 commercial and residential accounts. Bills for service are mailed to each customer six times per year.

Village staff completed an analysis of two hundred (200) high-use commercial accounts in the first quarter of 2011. The review indicated that a number of commercial accounts had meter reads that were not consistent with records in the Village's financial management information system.

Additional field-work was then subsequently completed in Spring/Summer 2011 to cross-check account records with actual visual reads of commercial meters.

From December 2011 through March 2012, the Village completed a financial audit of specific commercial accounts that had billing or metering discrepancies. Fifteen (15) years of financial system data and historical records were reviewed in an effort to ensure that proper corrections could be determined for accounts that had confirmed billing errors.

The audit results indicated that five (5) accounts require billing and metering corrections. Three (3) of the accounts were under-billed and two (2) of the accounts were over-billed.

The Village Administrator is in the process of meeting with representatives of the five (5) accounts. The under-billed accounts will have the variance amount forgiven by the Village and the water meter will be reset correctly moving forward. The over-billed accounts will be reimbursed for the variance and the water meter will be reset to bill for the correct future water usage.

The total under-billed balance that will be forgiven is $44,534.84. The total overbilled amount is $147,564.87. These corrections are for the time period of 1997 through 2012.

Source: Village of Cary