July 8, 2019
Heritage Springs Sewer Works
Explanation of Billing Error
Corrected on July 2019 Billing
On October 8, 2012, the Milton Town Board approved a $35 per year rate increase per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) for sewer customers of Heritage Springs Sewer Works. Single family homes and apartments are 1 ERU customers while commercial users may be billed as multiple ERUs in accordance with their increased sewage use.
The rate increase was ordered to be phased in over two years with a $17.50 per year increase beginning January 1, 2013 followed by a second $17.50 increase on January 1, 2014. Since sewer billing is charged twice per year, each annual increase was further divided in half for each billing cycle.
On January 1, 2015, Heritage inadvertently made a clerical mistake by applying a third, unwarranted increase on the bill. That incorrect rate has been used unknowingly since that time up to and including the bills for January 1, 2019. In simplest terms, these accounts have been overbilled by $8.03 twice per year since January 1, 2015.
Heritage sincerely regrets this mistake and has taken great effort to refund the full amount each of our sewer customers has overpaid with interest. Your refund was calculated to include 7% interest compounded quarterly from the dates of all payments you have made since the error occurred. The refund also includes all sales tax that was paid on the amount in error. The total refund is being applied as a one-time credit adjustment on your July 2019 bill. The rate for sewer service has also been corrected so that this unfortunate mistake will not reoccur.
This error is Heritage’s full responsibility. Neither the Town of Milton nor the Saratoga County Sewer District has any blame. We apologize for any inconvenience we have caused our customers and regret that this mistake could not have been discovered sooner. We strive to ensure that our system is maintained in the best possible condition to minimize interruptions to service or any less than optimal circumstances. This billing error is not typical of our attention to detail and we thank you for your understanding.