A new online utility billing system opens the opportunity for Village of Waterville customers to pay online.
The system, which is not yet in operation, would allow billing invoices to be emailed rather than mailed. Village clerk Gayle Barnes told the Village Board at their meeting last week with online billing customers could be billed monthly instead of quarterly.
The two-hour meeting opened with a public hearing on the new fees for garbage pickup. Since 2020 the Village has run a deficit, with last year reaching $72,292 in losses, with running the utility.
Charges will go from $43.75 a quarter to $80, or to $26.67 a month vs. $14.58. Cost to have the Village handle garbage pickup is estimated at $206,420 for the next year. Customer fees will now cover the overall cost of garbage collecting instead of using general funds from the Village budget to cover the gap.
Since 2019 salaries in the department have gone from $70,553 to $96,000. Tipping fees, vehicle maintenance and equipment costs have also risen.
Barnes said if enough customers sign up for email invoices the Village could see a savings in mailing the bills, which costs $370 a quarter. Customers would be billed more frequently but have smaller amounts to pay at one time.
Barnes and Board members discussed when the bill schedule changes would go through if done. A public hearing would be needed to change the local law.
The email billing will start once the software system is in place. Customers will also pay a 2.9 percent charge of their bill for the third-party vendor to process the payment; customers can also pay at Village Hall with a credit or debit card.
An agreement is in place between the Village and Hubbard Construction over paving needed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant to finish the capital project.
The two parties had been heading to court to resolve the issue.
Work will be done by July 1.
The owner of the dirt road that goes from Waterville Public Library to the Little League field wants to formally make the road a right-of-way. Board members…
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