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Software integration results in water/sewer billing delays

FILE PHOTO/JERRY SPAR

A software issue that has caused billing delays for water and sewer customers in town should be reconciled in the near future, according to Department of Public Works director Kerry Reed.

“We’re at a point where we feel pretty confident we’ll get [the next bill out] next month,” she said.

The DPW sent a notice out to residents last week notifying water/sewer customers of the delay in billing. While the issue has put customers behind several months on receiving invoices, Reed explained there would not be any penalties or fees to customers.

Delays in billing are a result of issues with the DPW’s transition to a new software system. It needs to be integrated into existing meter monitoring software and, according to Reed, “Right now, they don’t talk to each other.” Her department is working with the vendors of each program to remedy the situation, but she said it would take some more time.

“It’s been very challenging to integrate them because we’re dependent on each of these software companies to give them what they need to talk,” said Reed.

The last invoices water/sewer customers received were from May, the director said. While the new billing system is working, the DPW wants to be certain it is getting correct meter information for over 4,000 customers. Reed said that the shift of a decimal point could cause issues.

“We didn’t want to send out erroneous bills or bills that were too high because we haven’t had a chance to do quality checks on the new software,” she added.

The goal, said Reed, is to catch up on the billing backlog in the next two to three months. Invoices cannot be sent out all at once, so there will continue to be delays. Furthermore, the DPW is working with the Treasurer’s Office to ensure it does not get overwhelmed.

Like any standard water/sewer bill, residents will have 30 days from when it is issued and can pay it without penalties as normal, Reed said.

While the early transition over to the new software has caused some stress, Reed expressed hope in its ability to improve operations — especially as the department seeks to move water/sewer billing to a quarterly system. She touted that the new, cloud-based software will provide greater cybersecurity and more redundancies. Other benefits highlighted in the official DPW notice include improvements to the accuracy, efficiency and reliability of billing operations.

— NICK SCHOFIELD

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Photo of the Day

Hopkinton High School Best Buddies club members (from left) Reagan Osuch, Aoife Coniry, Sophia Zanella, Brooke Merrill, Emma Wiley and Eabha O’Callaghan show off their piece during the diversity mural unveiling ceremony held by the Hopkinton Cultural Council at EMC Park on Saturday. Click here for more photos.

PHOTO/WILLIAM DURFEE