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Century Finds No Garbage Customer Billed Correctly, Some Getting ‘Half Price’ Service
February 9, 2023
No one in the town of Century is being charged the correct rate for garbage service, and some residents are paying twice as much for the very same service.
Everyone has at least the minimum one-can residential service. But different people are paying different rates, according to Town Clerk Leslie Howington, but generally ranging from $12 to $24, and no one is being billed the correct rate of $25.34.
The billing blunders came to light this week when the town council set out to approve a 4.93% , or $1.25, increase , per customer for one weekly pick up of a trash can and twice per month curbside debris pickup of household items and vegetative debris. The town contracts with Republic Services to collect garbage within the town limits. Republic has a provision in their contract that allows them to increase the rates they charge the town each December to match the Consumer Price Index. The town annually passes the rate increase directly along to residents.
But over the last several years, town staff has failed to actually adjust the rates in the billing system, so the town has been losing the revenue while paying Republic more.
Interim town council member Alicia Johnson, who just took office last month, said she is being billed just $14, rather than the correct $25.34. And she is not alone.
So far, there’s not a definitive explanation while some residents are being just charged essentially half price.
“Did the past employees just add the rate increases and ignore the current customers?,” Mayor Ben Boutwell asked Wednesday.
Quick math shows that if the town has 550 garbage customers, revenue should be about $14,000 a month (550 x $25.34). But the town is only billing $8,000 to $9,000.
Boutwell agreed it’s simple elementary school math that should have shown the billing errors long ago.
“It blows me away. These are simple, common sense things to do. I am the mayor, and I’m saying someone has got to take pride in their work,” Boutwell said, clarifying that he was referring to previous administrations and since-departed employees. “We have a totally different administration and staff now.”
Howington and current employees have spent countless hours, sometimes 15 hours a week she says, working to solve the problem.
The mayor added the self-auditing will continue, and customers will see the billing corrected.
“I want to talk to our customers and let them know, some of their garbage bills are about to double to get them to the correct rate,” he said.
“I’m not going to lie. It’s exhausting to keep hitting these walls,” Howington said. “They are going to be right, and we’re going to go up.”
And, he noted, software problems with natural gas billings have also been uncovered and are being investigated.
As for that annual consumer price index increase of about 5%, that $1.25 is still on the table, with the council set to vote later this month.
Comments
18 Responses to “Century Finds No Garbage Customer Billed Correctly, Some Getting ‘Half Price’ Service”
If the correct rate is $25.34, someone please tell me why I am paying $26.50 monthly.
I agree everyone who was only paying part of the bill should be back charge to correct. I also agree the state should revoke the town charter. The miss management by the elected officials is devastating the town. ECUA should take over for both Sanation service and water Service. Direct bill the customer. I still find it strange that there was no bidding for the sanation service to begin with. It appears there is some level of corruption in this towns management.
I agree with swamp gas the folks getting reduced prices for garbage knew full well they were not being billed correctly and this includes the appointed councilwoman who just happen to previously worked for the town. this needs to be addressed in a manner that is right for all us people that have been paying the correct amount
If the correct rate is charged, will an increase still be needed?
If the town were a business it would have gone bankrupt and folded a long time ago. Yet some people still believe that Century will change and get better. Ha ha ha.
Clean up on isle 3.
Simple thing to do would be to let ECUA take over collection and billing for garbage,,,,,,,,,,,,,but then you could not give free or reduced price service to all your closest friends and relatives.
Ya gonna be dumb ya gotta be tough.
Perhaps the fine folks in District2 1 & 2 that want to create “Village People of Perdido” can take some hints from “The Town of Century” as to how to run their government.
Seems like their is only two options to right this wrong.
#1 reimburse all of those who have been paying full price all along or.
#2 go back and charge all those who have been paying half for how ever long this has been going on due in full upon receiving the bill. These folks know they were only paying half price and went along with it for as long as they could.
While you’re at it, my gas bill for February says pay by December 27, 2022.
My time machine is messing up, so I can’t go back then to pay it.
David for better flux capacitors
Why does this town continue to exist? What value does the local leadership provide to its citizens?
And we’re surprised??
I feel very badly for those whose bills will double.
Especially in this economy where everything is so high any ways.
Not right or good.
Is there no end to the incompetence that takes place in one small city? How does the State not step in and revoke the charter and return rule to the county.
It has been a few years since the natural gas fiasco was uncovered and new meters were ordered and hopefully installed. Am I to believe at that time no one thought to look at the natural gas billing to ensure it was correct as well?
Now the city finds out they have been underbilling for trash pickup to the tune of 40%. The elected officials, including the mayor, get trash, water, and gas bills? You would think one of those 6 people would realize their bill is not the correct amount.
I wouldn’t consider 15 hours a week “countless” hours
Is this office being ran by the 3 stooges or how many stooges that are actually employed there. There’s one ridiculous blunder after another. Does ANYONE know how to do the job they are being paid to do ? Why hasn’t the person in charge of billing asked over all this time why there’s such a big difference in what’s being charged for the same service ? When it comes to the gas problem wasn’t there a big mess with that department a couple of years or so ago ? Wasn’t the town losing a ridiculous amount of money back then ? Did they not cross all the t’s and dot all i’s before they put a bow on it and said all is taken care of . I go back to what I said at the beginning .
Do they even know how to do the job they are being paid to do…….
Using the same scale as water and gas billing.
I’m shocked, aghast, dumbfounded, astonished and flabbergasted that this is happening in a well oiled machine like Century, truly stunned.