Sewage Customers Get Extra Way to Pay Bills
Beginning next month, East Franklin Township sewage customers will be able to pay their bills via credit or debit card - with an additional service fee.
By Jonathan Weaver
East Franklin Township sewage customers will be able to pay their bills via debit or credit card effective in July.
Township Secretary Debra Cornman and Local Service Tax Collector/ Sewage Secretary Carla Scholl said residents have requested the EZ-NETPAY Internet payment service since the beginning of the year.
“If they ask, we have to try and go for it,” Scholl said.
Supervisors unanimously agreed to the internet processing professional service agreement with Hamer Enterprises during a special meeting earlier this month.
School said as soon as customers get their next bill – which is expected Wednesday, July 1 – they will be able to call her with their American Express, Discover or Visa Mastercard numbers or stop into the Cherry Orchard Avenue office to pay their bills online.
“It’s just an added feature that people can use for payment for their sewage bill,” Scholl said. “Just to get it done, people use their credit cards. Everybody does most of their banking online – a lot of people like to call in and say ‘I forgot to pay my bill – here are my numbers.’”
Scholl will be able to print out or send customers a receipt if requested.
Township officials are following the lead of Kittanning Suburban Joint Water Authority – who also accepts payment via credit card and used to collect township fees before the township took on that added responsibility to save money.
Customers who do not pay their delinquent bills run the risk of having their water shut off.
“It’s the only recourse we have - that’s an added incentive for them for payment,” Scholl said. “A lot of people are late sometimes, so if you’re running late, you can call in with your credit card numbers and I can just punch them in so you’ll save late fees.”
For customers with $100-$200 bills, customers will have to pay a $6.75 service fee.
“But, we have people who want to do that – we do not get the $6.75. We’re just getting our money before people go delinquent and then we have to charge them,” Cornman said.
Customer bills are usually either about $100 or $122 every two months, Scholl said.
As of last week, there were 236 customers within Adrian, Cowansville, Tarrtown and Fox Hollow treatment areas.
Customers will receive their bills Wednesday, July 1 and bills are due by Monday, July 20.
Customers still will be able to pay via check, money order or cash at the township offices Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8AM-3PM.
The office will be closed Friday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day.
A note of the change will also be found in next week’s bills.
Local News | jweaver June 25, 2015
