Springdale Township residents worried about paying late fees for water bills they have not received yet can rest easy.
The township commissioners said Thursday that residents have not received water bills or are getting them late this month because of the new meter reading and billing system the township is installing.
“We are a little bit behind from where we want to be,” said Commissioner Ken Igo, water department chairman.
Igo and Township Manager William “Red” McElligott said the delay is due to getting new software the township purchased to run the system, getting it online and training employees to use it. McElligott initially was aiming to complete the process by Oct. 1.
As a result of the delay, Igo said residents will not have to pay fees for late payment of bills.
The commissioners voted unanimously in June to buy the software from Diversified Technologies of Bloomsburg that will run numerous functions in the water system.
It’s being integrated with the remote-read water meters the township has been installing to replace the old manual-read meters.
Remote-read meters can take meter readings by radio from a truck or directly at the township office via a radio tower. It’s expected to make meter reading a much faster process requiring fewer man-hours of labor.
The new software will aid in the collection and storage of water usage data, billing and payment of bills. It also provides data on customers’ water usage immediately through handheld computer pads.
“I think we are moving along with the program, the pads are working well,” Igo said.
In addition to the other functions it provides, the software also allows the township to receive credit card payments for water bills.
McElligott and the commissioners said they hope to have the system completely operational and get the next round of billing back on the normal schedule.
The Diversified Technologies software was purchased for $13,550. The township will pay $5,870 for each subsequent year it’s used.
