Final Results Are In On Holbrook Utility Audit

By Linda Kor
   The final figures on Holbrook’s internal utility audit were presented to the city council Feb. 23 by Finance Director Randy Sullivan.
   According to the information provided, all of the meters in the city, a total of 1,880, were tested for meter problems, meter box and valve problems, the trash totes were accounted for and billing was checked for errors.
   In the methodology of the audit each account was reviewed for the past year. For every error found, the audit went a year further from that event. In other words, if an error was discovered in May 2009, that account was reviewed back to May 2008 to determine if the error was consistent. City ordinance allows for the audit to go back two years.
   The figures show that of the 1,800 meters, 22 had issues, mostly involving the touch reader. That meant that 98.83 percent of the meters had no malfunctions reported.
   Five of the concrete meter boxes had problems, mostly due to breakage or sinking into the concrete, leaving 99.04 percent that were not damaged.
   There were 68 meter valves that had issues and needed replacement; leaving 96.38 percent that were in proper working order.
   In addition, of the 1,800 trash tote accounts in the city, there were18 issues with either totes being left at structures where there was no longer an account, or an account holder having two totes and being billed for only one.
   The errors in billing came to a total of 17 errors in all departments for a total of $4,302.84. In all instances, it was money not billed by the city to the residents.
   In the separate departments, it came to $53.50 in water, $1,160.50 in sewer and $2,688.84 in sanitation. Most of the accounts with billing errors ranged from $66 to $398. Beyond that, one account for the Holbrook Dormitories came to $1,600 in errors.
   The audit initially came about as the city council was considering a rate increase at the end of 2008.
   At a council meeting held in January 2009, then-vice mayor Cynthia Stuart suggested that before a rate increase was considered, an audit of faulty equipment and a verification of who may not be billed for their utilities should be conducted first.
    The audit began in May and was expected to take about three months to complete, but the final figures were just recently compiled.
   Although it is the council’s discretion to decide if the residents who were incorrectly billed will be asked to pay the balance owed, Sullivan does not think that would be likely.
   “All the errors were our fault. I’ve talked with Ray (city manager Ray Alley) and neither one of us are real comfortable with billing people for an error we made,” stated Sullivan.
   With the good news being that minimal errors were discovered, it now leaves the question of whether an increase in utilities will be put back on a future agenda to be considered by the council.