Hampden mails corrected sewer bills

HAMPDEN – Sewer customers will receive corrected bills this week after a mishap that caused 1,400 people to be charged erroneously.

Last summer’s water consumption readings, instead of last quarter’s readings, were used to compute the bills that were mailed on Jan. 27, according to Town Manager Susan Lessard.

“We want to make sure people’s bills are correct,” Lessard said Wednesday.

A computer problem produced the erroneous information, according to Cameron Torrey, Hampden Water District general manager.

“It looks like there might have been a glitch,” Torrey said Wednesday.

The error was discovered after the bills were mailed out, and new bills were sent Wednesday to all sewer customers, Lessard said.

People tend to use more water during the summer, so many of the bills overcharged customers by $20 to $40, Lessard said.

“This is a tough time of year to pay bills anyway,” the town manager said.

Had the error not been detected, the town would have collected more than $27,000 in false charges, she said.

Anyone who sent in a payment that significantly exceeds their correct bill amount will be contacted with the choice to credit their account or be issued a check, Lessard said.

If a resident has paid the bill and isn’t contacted by the town, that means the original bill amount is within $5 of the correct amount, she said.

The cost to the town for printing and postage of the new bills, along with staff time, is estimated at $1,200 to $1,300, Lessard said.

“People have been great about it, and my staff has done an amazing job,” she said.

Anyone with questions about their sewer bill may call the town office at 862-3034.