While it is not yet finalized, we are close to completing a new sewer agreement with the City of Carterville. The biggest change in the new agreement is the use of a new billing method.
Our current method of billing is that every Heritage Acres sewer customer is charged an amount equal to the average sewer bill of a Carterville resident. This amount is currently $49.06 per month.
The new method, which is in common use with other Water Supply Districts and sewer providers, is to use the monthly water consumption data for the months of February, March, and April (provided by PWSD#3) to calculate each household’s sewer bill individually. These are the same months used to calculate Carterville residents’ sewer bills based on their water usage.
What is the practical impact of this? We highly recommend that PWSD and Sewer customers limit their use of PWSD water that does not go into the sewer each year during the months of February, March, and April. Good examples would be filling a pool or watering the lawn. PWSD water usage during these months will determine your monthly sewer bill until the next year, when the average will be recalculated.
By our calculations, if your PWSD water consumption is around 4,000-5,000 gallons per month, your bill will remain fairly close to the current price of around $50 per month.
If you are connected to the sewer but use a well for your water service, your bill will reflect the average consumption of Heritage Acres’ PWSD customers.
Another change in the agreement is that the POA will be required to settle accounts that are 90 days past due twice a year (previously we were required to settle as often as Carterville issued a request for payment for any past due accounts). This will reduce the administrative workload on the Board required to track delinquent accounts and attempt to collect money due back to the POA.
This is important: if a resident’s account is past due when the time comes to settle, the account will be settled with Carterville and the matter will be forwarded directly to the POA’s attorney for collection, at which time the resident will be responsible for the original sewer fees, Carterville’s late fee (currently $10 per month), interest, and attorney’s fees. It is not fair for me to continue to ask my fellow volunteer board members to spend large amounts of time tracking delinquent bills, nor is it fair for residents that are paying their sewer bills to support residents who are not paying.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section here or on the Heritage Acres Property Owners Association Facebook page and we will answer them as soon as possible.
Thanks,
Avery