Town Looks To Quarterly Water Bills - Winchendon

Town Looks To Quarterly Water Bills

Damien Fisher News Staff Writer WINCHENDON — Residents will soon be getting more water and sewer bills every year, and late payments could result in shut-offs. Selectmen approved a recommendation from Town Manager Keith Hickey to change the current water and sewer billing schedule from two times a year to quarterly. The recommendation comes from Hickey via a last year’s report from the Massachusetts Depart­ment of Revenue, which cited a need for the town to secure a more regular cash infusion. “It will make a good difference on the cash flow,” Hickey said. Residents will not be paying more, just paying more often under the new schedule. The quarterly bills will go out in September, December, March and June, similar to the transition to quarterly tax bills the town underwent in 2014. The DOR, which backed special legislation to get Win­chendon a line of bond credit of up to $6 million, wants to make sure the town maintains enough cash on hand to pay bills and payroll, Hickey said. The town has borrowed about $3.5 million through the special bond legislation to recover from the fiscal crisis caused by accounting errors in the municipal employee health trust fund, and in overspending of school accounts. Selectmen are also considering a plan to shut off water service to residents who are delinquent in paying their bills. Department of Public Works Director Al Gallant told the board that his department ran significant deficits last year that could have been alleviated if people paid their bills on time. As it is now, some residents allow the town to attach a lien on their home rather than pay seriously delinquent bills. These liens are then paid off when the house is sold, but that could take years for the town to see money for the service provided. “I can’t stress enough how we need to get some teeth to get these people to pay these bills,” Gallant said. Hickey said that property owners will be notified about any pending shut off, and the town will work out financial arrangements with anyone having a hard time financially. Board members expressed concern for people in rental properties, and also homes with small children or the elderly who might lose their water service through no fault of their own. The board will consider the plan to start shutting off water service to people who don’t pay at their next meeting.