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Sewer billing to hit closer to home in 2011
(by Sue Reid - January 03, 2011)
Sewer billing to hit closer to home in 2011
By SUE REID
The new year will bring a change in the sewer billing process for residents in the City of Solon.
After a yearlong effort, the city will begin processing sewer bills in-house for residents. The hope is to process the first bill by March 1, Public Works Director James S. Stanek said. That would encompass the first-quarter reading, which includes November, December and January consumption.
Prior to the change, the City of Cleveland Water Department billed Solon residents for both sewer and water. Now, Solon would take over the sewer portion.
Mr. Stanek said that issues with accounts over the years prompted the change.
"We have had issues over the years," Mr. Stanek said. "Doing this in-house will give us a much better opportunity to manage those accounts." A lot of preparation went into being able to do this, including obtaining the software and hiring a billing clerk.
Residents will receive a different bill that comes directly from Solon and also will continue to get a bill from the Cleveland Water Department.
"There will be one water bill and one sewer bill," Mr. Stanek said, which will come four times a year. "That will be a dramatic difference than what they are used to."
Bills will be sent out March 1, June 1, Sept. 1 and Dec. 1. "That is the plan," he said.
Mr. Stanek said the Cleveland Water Department is charging $4.82 for the resident billing and the city will charge $4. Residents will realize an 82-cent savings each quarter.
Another difference is residents will have a place at City Hall where they can come, sit down and go over their bill and ask questions. "They will hopefully get quick answers," Mr. Stanek said.
Residents who have questions about the change can call Leslie Fuller, the city's billing clerk, at (440) 337-1334.
Mayor Susan A. Drucker said the change is something she has wanted the city to undertake for some time, as far back as when she sat on City Council. At that time, she said, she was becoming aware of some of the problems residents were having with billing from the Cleveland Water Department. She campaigned on the issue while running for mayor, she said.
"I wanted to assist residents in this process," she said. "I am glad this is something that is coming to fruition."
Mrs. Drucker said the process to get to this point was lengthy, especially because the city had to rely on the Cleveland department for information.
"It's a matter of transferring all the accounting over to the city, but I felt "it was an important undertaking because even though it won't solve billing issues with Cleveland Water, it now gives us the ability to identify when people are either not getting billed or have increased readings without any information." Mrs. Drucker said.
Even though the billing will be separate, it also gives the city more accurate accounting for its water-reclamation department, she said.
"When Cleveland Water is dropping the ball, it negatively impacts our water-reclamation department and the revenues we should be collecting," she said.
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