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News Analysis: The Anatomy Of A Wall Township Water Bill

Why are you getting charged so much, or so little, or so inconsistently?

By Keith Brown
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March 5, 2013

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The actual water bills from a Wall Township resident. The bill on the left is from the same time period last year, while the one on the right is the current bill.

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The actual water bills from a Wall Township resident. The bill on the left is from the same time period last year, while the one on the right is the current bill.

Credit Keith Brown

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It comes every three months and almost no one pays attention to it until there’s a problem.

With this quarter’s Water and Sewer bill, there’s a problem -- a big one for a growing list of Wall Township residents who are reporting to Wall Patch and to town hall over-the-top charges they had no way to expect.

Some of those charges approach $2,000 for a period of time where water use is generally less than in the hotter summer months, officials have said.

Township Administrator Jeffry Bertrand said last week there was little quality control over water meter reading in town. There is no computerized database of who was checking what meters on what days with which equipment, so getting a baseline on the meter reading process to check for a breakdown is currently impossible.

(For more on your water meter, please see: "Water Meters 101: What is that thing, anyway?"

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Bills can be disputed by calling (732) 449-8444 ext. 221. And any complaints can always be taken to Jeffry Bertrand, township administrator, who oversees all township departments: (732) 449-8444 ext. 216.
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Mayor Todd Luttman also was without answers last week. He said the administration was looking into residents’ complaints but said he also was curious about his own inflated bill.

Meanwhile, residents from all over town are struggling to find ways to cover bills that are two-, three- and reportedly up to five-times their normal charges.

Maybe it’s finally time to pay attention to that water bill.

Anatomy of the water bill
Residents in town are billed at least $43.47 for incoming water up to 6,000 gallons, depending on the size of your water meter, according to Wall Township’s water and sewer ordinance. On top of that, residents also are billed at least $105.47 in a flat sewer fee. That flat sewer fee covers outgoing water and sewage up to 31,250 gallons, or more than five times the amount covered by the fee for incoming water.

Every homeowner who has a water hookup in Wall will pay, at minimum, $149.19 each quarter, according to the fee structure. There are some exceptions, but the vast majority of Wall residents are required by local law to have a water/sewer hook up, according to the ordinance.

The fee structure is not unusual. A review of neighboring Howell Township’s water and sewer ordinance shows roughly the same fee structure and gallon allotment.

Fees
The bulk of charges that show up at any one time on a bill, however, are for water use in excess of the allotted, flat-fee, amounts. And the more water use above the set limits, the more it costs you for each gallon, according to the graduated fee structure.

For water use from 6,001 gallons to 13,000 gallons, the town will charge you $5.33 for each 1,000 gallons. After that, charges increase to $6.78 for every 1,000 gallons up to 25,000 gallons. Anything over 25,000 gallons will set you back $7.94 for every 1,000 gallons.

For outgoing water, or sewer, the town will charge you $1.92 for every 1,000 gallons more than the allotted $31,250. There are no further fee tiers for sewer, however, according to the ordinance.

Estimates
Not all bills are accurate reads, town officials have said. Some are estimates, normally based on an average of what your household has used in the past.

If those estimates are high, the next actual read of your water meter will reflect a dip in your payment, because your actual water use was less than the estimate. In effect, you overpaid for the previous quarter.

If, however, those estimates are low, the next time your meter is read, your bill will be higher, since you effectively underpaid during the previous estimated billing period, officials have said.

Complaints
While the town clearly has a period of at least three months to adjust your bill to more accurately reflect your water use, homeowners have only 15 days to dispute a bill, according to the ordinance.

Unpaid charges accrue interest and become a lein on your property, the ordinance says.

If you’re enrolled in the town’s direct debit program, the money for your water will will be automatically debited, in full, from your bank account on the due date of the bill.

If you’re disputing a bill, it would be best to get that completely taken care of before the direct debit happens. Refunds can be issued, but they have to be approved by the Township Committee. That can take six to eight weeks, according to the water department.

Related Topics: Wall Township Water Bill and Water Bill

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Eric D. Brophy

7:19 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Obviously, the largest concern for all should be the fact that there is no oversight or accountability by the meter readers. I was told that the readers are now being moved to town hall from DPW where, apparently, they were left to the "honor system". Hopefully the Township Committee will actually investigate and not sweep this under the rug. A public explanation needs to be made at the conclusion of the investigation. No more back room "we'll look into".

Tony LoCastro

8:27 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

My recent bill was the highest I ever received since building a new house three years ago. When I inquired as to why the bill was so high it turned out that I've never had an actual reading of my water meter since I've lived in the new house. My bills for the past three years have all been based on estimates. The township to it's credit admitted I had an issue and sent a meter reader out the next day. I'm now waiting to see anxiously if my bill will be higher or lower once an actual reading takes place. I do thank Township Administrator Jeff Bertrand for his responsiveness to my concern. I also thank Todd Luttman for his help with this issue. In my opinion though the water and sewer issue needs to be addressed. I have an option with my natural gas bill to balance my annual charges over a 12 month period to offset the higher costs during winter months. I'd really like to see an option to pay my quarterly sewer and water bill evenly each quarter. My higher month is always the summer when the sprinkler system is in use.
Tony LoCastro

K R Warren

8:58 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Maybe if the employees who work in the water department spent more time doiing what we are paying them to do. Instead they are more worried about hanging out at the firehouse on the resident's dime or more concerned about their second job. Wall has never had accountability, just passing the beauracratic buck is their style.

Sandy

9:00 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

My bill was more than double the usual. I was told that the prior bill was estimated due to the time of "Sandy", so this last one was a catch-up bill. Knowing that we use less water in the winter and had no water for days during "Sandy", I called about it. They said they sent someone out to re-read the meter which was now reading more than the last reading, but they looked at the meter...and supposedly serviced it. When I asked what was done, they did not say, exactly. My husband thought that perhaps the rush of water when the water was turned back on after we lost water for days was probably what pushed the meters in some way, though we did make sure to check all the toilets and did find one with some leakage. I really doubt it would account for 20,000 gallons more usage, but we do not know. I am hoping the next bill is not so outrageous or this will be difficult to manage. I did pay this one, but I don't want such huge bills ever again.

Judy

1:34 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

2:06 pm on Sunday, March 3, 2013
Our bill is 125% higher then any water and sewer bill we ever received. So I pulled all previous bills out and found what was done. Our last water and sewer bill was a low estimate. This water bill is a high actual reading. So anything over 6,000 gallons was charged the higher graduated rates and since our last bill was a low estimate we got charged the highest rate of 7.94 per 1,000 gallons on this bill!. If the last bill was an actual we would have been charged a lower excess fee. If they are going to do estimated bills they should not be allowed to over charge on excess fees on the next actual reading.

Judy

2:14 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

I called the water department yesterday they said they will go over your bill and make an adjustment if you get in touch with them. So please call them if your bill is inaccurate.

Scott Arnone

3:56 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

“Hi Wall Twp, Its me the year 2013. I Just wanted to let you know there are these things called computers. They are awesome at productivity, tracking, calculations etc. You may want to check it them out sometime.”

Mickey Brewster

6:23 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Does anyone know who eventually gets paid for the water? Is there any advantage to show them more water use? You really have to wonder how many of us could have been charged for 7001 gallons and never noticed. Do it to enough people and you'd end up with a tidy sum. Plus. Who would ever know?