Q&A Regarding Delayed Bills, Sept-Dec 2016

On December 30, 2016 DeKalb County began releasing water and sewer statements that were previously withheld from mailing, as there was a concern of the validity of the data contained in the accounts.  Generally, these concerns are articulated as “exceptions.”

What are exceptions, and why did DeKalb flag them?

Exceptions can be caused by high usage, which is not uncommon in a Level 2 drought.  However they can also be caused by a variety of other reasons including meter set up issues, meters not read, manual meter readings, equipment malfunction, estimated statements, human error, or other issues that would not reflect actual consumption.  So, an exception is not necessarily an error, but it is a circumstance that falls outside of our standard operating process which could cause an inaccurate reflection of true consumption.  Between Sept. and Dec. 2016, DeKalb withheld some statements in an attempt to investigate the causes, but this proved to be an inefficient solution.

Why is DeKalb sending out several bills all at once?

The number of accounts with exceptions were generated more rapidly than DeKalb's ability to resolve them, therefore all previously-withheld statements were in 4 different mailings.  The reason for the staggered billing is to avoid miscalculations in tiered water consumption, which would occur if an account was withheld across multiple billing cycles.  For example, 2 bi-monthly bills at 24,000 gallons each are $368.08 each, or $736.16 for both.  Because of tiered billing, a combined bill would reflect 48,000 gallons at once, which would be $778.96, which is a $42 difference.  DeKalb County wants to ensure accuracy in its water & sewer statements.

Why are these statements “estimated” and what does that mean? 

DeKalb is sending customers an estimated statement while we get to the root cause of the exception(s), on the account and whether or not it is valid.  The estimation is based upon the average amount of 10 the last 12 billing cycles (discarding the highest and lowest statements during that period).  We are aware that the delay in sending statement(s) may cause hardships for some, For this reason, customers will have up to 12 months to pay the balance on these delayed statements. (Sept.-Dec. 2016) 

How is DeKalb fixing the water bill problem?

DeKalb is launching an aggressive strategy for addressing the root causes of the exceptions by field-verifying every account for integrity of the underlying data.  To ensure maximum efficiency, crews will inspect every water meter in order of statement routes.  Account representatives will be available via phone to answer any questions about the account or the process itself.  The accounts that are experiencing the exceptions will be visited first, with the ultimate goal of verifying the information on every water meter by the end of 2017.

When will DeKalb go back to sending normal bills?

As each account is reconciled, customers will receive additional communication and resume normal consumption billing.

Will there be a catch-up bill if it turns out actual usage exceed estimated usage?

No.  There will be no “catch-up” bill, even if actual consumption exceeds the average calculated during this review period.  However, any past due balances from previous billing cycles will carry forward on the account, as well as the estimated amounts on these current bills listed above.

What about customers that are already in the Dispute Resolution process?

Most customers who self-enrolled in the Dispute Resolution process will continue to be serviced via Dispute Resolution, and will not deviate from that process that they are already on..  However, the Dispute Resolution customers whose accounts have been identified as containing questionable information will receive statements as explained above, and move into this program. 

Special note:  DeKalb County is committed to providing the best possible customer service to our citizens. We apologize for any inconvenience and hardship this issue has caused and we appreciate your patience, understanding, ideas and support as we work through this challenging issue.