Dear Editor,
This letter is to register my complaint of the EDU billing system for Village of Owego sewer usage. I think it is unethical and probably illegal if not immoral to bill across the board to every homeowner for sewer use without any record of water use.
The Manager of United Water says that in March of 2013 the Public Service Commission told them they could no longer share the water usage report with the village sewer people because of customer privacy issues. According to the Village of Owego website they claim that United Water decided to no longer share the water report so they had to come up with a different plan to effectively bill for sewer usage.
Talk about not being on the same page. Whatever the problem, the new system is unfair.
I have been paying the minimum payment for each of the two units I own for 12 years. That means that I have been paying for more than I am getting for 12 years. Now each unit is going up $25 a billing cycle due to no fault of my own. There is no added service, no increased amount, and no disaster relief. I get no benefit whatsoever for the additional cost.
I understand that I am not the only one who is upset. All landlords are required to pay the sewer bill for each unit they own whether the unit is occupied or not, even if it doesn’t have water service hooked up. If there are more than 5 units the facility is considered commercial and is rated by historical use.
How did they determine that over 5 units qualified as commercial. Why aren’t 1 or 2 units qualified as commercial if they are rented or leased? Every unit pays the basic minimum rate, which is approximately 45 percent higher than last time.
All the people who tried to keep their water usage down will be penalized with this new system. The people who used more than the minimum amount of water, could actually be paying less now. If the landlords don’t fight this they will probably raise their tenants rent to compensate for the increase which can equate to hardship for the tenants, especially those who are on government subsidized programs like HUD.
I for one can’t afford to pay the increased amount. I am retired and I run a not-for-profit business out of my two-family home. The business is in one apartment and my residence is in the other.
According to the methodology referred to on their website, the Village is rating commercial properties differently than residential. The way I understand it, and according to the website, the one apartment that houses my business should be rated commercial and it’s rate should be based on historical use; the residential unit I live in is computed by a contractor hired by the village. So in my opinion all homes that have businesses in them should be computed as commercial.
I live hand to mouth every day so I can afford to operate my animal rescue, which I do for Tioga County at no cost to them. I can’t afford to shop in the beautiful shops downtown, or do most of the things people take for granted because I spend every cent on taking abandoned, orphaned and injured cats off the streets and into my home. There is no room in my budget for this ridiculousness.
Do you think if you don’t live in the village that, thank God, you won’t be affected? Guess again. Anybody that drives through Owego, shops in Owego, does their business in Owego will be affected by the domino affect.
It’s already happening. Businesses are jacking up their prices to compensate for this increase. This will affect the prices when shopping, and landlord’s will increase their rents.
This will affect the amount of money people have to spend. I see the Laundromat has raised their prices significantly, they said it was either that or go out of business. Are other businesses considering the same thing?
The methodology that the Village came up with clearly is not an effective tool to determine a fair rate for sewer usage. What about sending out a letter to your customers requesting that they sign a waiver to release their water information? I can’t imagine why any of us would care if the water company shared our water usage information with the sewer company. They have been doing it for years. Why can’t the Village refer to historical use for the residences like they are with the commercial properties until more research is done – like what have other communities done in these circumstances?
My advice to concerned citizens is to let your concerns be known as I am. Write or call the Village Sewer and let your opinions be known. Copy United Water, your government represenatives such as Senator Tom Libous (it’s an election year) and the Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman. And, of course, a letter to the Pennysaver.
We can either sit quietly and let this happen or we can make them hear us – this system is not fair.
Sincerely,
Nancy Brown
Maddie’s Meadows
Owego, N.Y.
Yes as a senor of Owego I am hoping there is away that we can get the government involved. I believe they are monopolizing the sewer because They know if no one pays there price. They will get there money anyways due to paying a very high Tax. They put the cost of what you owe on your taxes. So it is a win win for them. What if they decide to raise it again and again until you are paying as much for sewer as you are paying for your House taxes.