Committee to take up billing delays

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October 6, 2007

Alderman requests billing return to local vendor

BY JENNIFER BAILEY The Commercial-News Sat Oct 06, 2007, 09:49 PM CDT

DANVILLE — The out-of-state billing, recent delays and other problems with garbage and sewer bills from Aqua Illinois will be one focus of discussions at Tuesday’s city council Public Works Committee meeting.

Ward 5 Alderman Mike Puhr in July said he’s received several phone calls from constituents about the late water, sewer and garbage bills from Aqua Illinois.

He asked if the city could look into reverting back to doing the billing itself with the money now going out of state to a billing center.

Public Works Director Doug Ahrens said city officials are looking at options.

Puhr said on Friday some residents also have had problems of not getting a bill.

They forget about budgeting money for it and then receive a higher one later, he said.

Puhr said residents also don’t like mailing bills and correspondence to Ohio and Pennsylvania.

He said residents want a local billing service.

“It was different when the bills were coming out of Danville,” he said. “Let’s try to get it back in house or go with a local vendor.”

Puhr also expects discussion Tuesday on possibly having a flat fee for sewer charges, such as for residential customers, instead of basing the charges on usage.

Ahrens said the department won’t seek any action Tuesday night.

“This month there’ll be dialogue with the council and we’ll hold meetings to allow public input,” he said.

Ahrens said billing delays were anticipated with Aqua’s computer software changeover.

But there also have been “other frustrations expressed to us,” he said.

Aqua Illinois took over the city’s sewer and garbage billing in January 2006. Residents started receiving monthly instead of bi-monthly bills for garbage and sewer service.

The agreement allows for Aqua Illinois to disconnect water service because of customers’ delinquent garbage and sewer bills.

The water company remits to the city 97.5 percent of the collected billing from garbage customers each month and 90 percent for sewer service billings.

In other business, the committee will:

--Consider converting the intersection of Hazel and Seminary streets to a four-way stop.

Puhr said there might not have been a lot of accidents there when it went to a one-way stop, but the perception of danger and people avoiding traveling Hazel Street remained.

Ahrens said the changeover will occur sometime this month when Hazel and Jackson streets are converted to two-way traffic.

--Discuss removing the stop sign at Fairchild and Wakley at Fair Oaks.

“Traffic at that location does not warrant the traffic sign,” Ahrens said.

--Consider approving a contract for asbestos abatement for the public works facility on Voorhees Street. City officials will open bids Tuesday.

--Consider prohibiting parking on both sides of Fairchild Street from Gilbert to the east city limits.

Ahrens said in reviewing city codes, officials identified a conflict with city ordinance versus real-world conditions.

Fairchild is striped for four lanes and there can’t be parking in a travel lane.

COMING UP

The city council’s Public Works Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Robert E. Jones Municipal Building, 17 W. Main St.

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