Errors by Town of Battleford staff have led to some water bills being underbilled a total of close to $100,000, as discussed at Monday’s town council meeting.
In preparation for the 2019 budget, Finance Director David Gillan said he looked at utility accounts, and identified an account “that didn’t make any sense.” A condo with more than 18 units “was using a similar quantity of water as a single-dwelling home.”
After an investigation, town officials found the particular account had been underbilled, according to an administrative report prepared by Gillan and Chief Administrative Officer John Enns-Wind.
Large accounts were audited to determine if other accounts had similar problems, to calculate how much billing was lost, and to provide the solution to prevent reoccurrence.
According to the report, town staff reviewed prior billings to see when the problem occurred, read relevant meters in person, flow tested the meters and reviewed settings in Neptune billing software and Vadim software.
The software programs “have to be co-ordinated and set up properly,” Gillan said.
The results of the review found undervalued accounts “due to the setup of the account in the billing software,” the report states.
The setup with Neptune and Vadim software is different for five-eights and two inch meters, the report states, and “if the setup in the software is erroneous, it will bill erroneously.”
“It seemed to be the larger two-inch metres that seemed to have the problem,” Gillan told council, and six accounts had been billed erroneously for some time. Some errors date back to 2013.
The report notes two reasons for the errors: “an incomplete understanding of the setup requirements with the Neptune software, dating before the Vadim conversion,” and changes made in early 2017, when the town was converting to Vadim software, were based “on an inadequate understanding of the software.”
Meanwhile, staff didn’t check billings for accuracy before mailing them, according to the report.
According to the report, to prevent further problems, staff has undergone training in past months, including measures for staff to “better identify irregularities” in bills before mailing.
Now, all billings are reviewed by the utility clerk, the report states.
According to the Municipalities Act, the town has the right to collect two years of underbilling.
“However, it is also common practice with many businesses that they absorb mistakes that they make,” the report states.
Council decided to forgive underbilling of large meters prior to Nov. 1, 2018.
Mayor Ames Leslie said “the level of frustration when I read this was extreme.” Councillor Gordon Yarde said “it was too bad it happened, but I think we’re taking the right approach” regarding preventative measures.
Gillan said bills covering November 2018, December 2018 and January 2019 are correct. Gillan said letters have been sent to those whose bills were affected.
