Jan 24, 2013 By Terry Kish 2 min read

Since the water company has stopped including the sewer bill with the water bill, local municipalities have had to take over the function.

In Scott Township, residents recently received their first sewer bill issued by the township, with mixed results. At the Scott commissioners’ regular meeting on Jan. 22, resident Pat Martin told the board she received a bill for $348.38 for the three month period of October, November and December 2012.

Martin said that her bill did not include enough information for her to understand why her bill was so high, so she went to the township office for clarification. After some investigation, Martin discovered that her water bill for the three month period was $135.89, and her sewer bill to the township should have been $67.84, which included a $9.06 service charge from ALCOSAN.

Martin said she’d like to see more detail in future bills so residents could understand how they were being charged. She also questioned why there was a monthly ALCOSAN fee when residents were receiving quarterly bills.

Township manager Denise Fitzgerald told Martin that there were problems with the first billing, and the sewer bills were a “work in progress.” She indicated that residents will receive more information on their next bill.

As for the ALCOSAN charge of $3.02 per month, Fitzgerald said the township passes on the cost to residents.

Fitzgerald said that there was a problem with a number of sewer bills because of incorrect data received from the water company. In Martin’s case, Fitzgerald said that two meters were listed on Martin’s account. Fitzgerald said the township has been able to figure out which customers have received incorrect bills, and those people have been notified and revised bills have been sent.