Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


There were some issues with the Village of Pinckney’s water and sewer billing system as of late but upgrades have been made – although bills will be going out late.

Village President Jeff Buerman explained the issues recently on social media. He said the water and sewer billing system recently experienced a setback due to the failure of an older computer that handled both meter readings and billing operations. He said they have since invested in a new computer system and updated software to improve reliability moving forward. However, the transition involved coordinating three separate systems - which takes time to reprogram and ensure everything works seamlessly together.

Buerman said the Village will be extending the due date for the upcoming water bill to give everyone ample time once billing resumes. He asked that people please don’t worry, as they work with everyone to make sure no one is penalized or placed under unnecessary stress due to the delay.

Buerman told WHMI they basically had a hard drive they’d been nursing along for a few years and “it finally went”. He said the decision was made to get a whole new software and hardware upgrade – which took a little longer when dealing with different programs.

Buerman said the new system was up and running and reading meters as of Wednesday and they shouldn’t encounter any more problems going forward. He said bills will be 2 to 3 weeks later than normal but again assured that there would not be any fees or penalties for being late this quarter, and they’ll work with everybody.

Buerman did offer a note of caution though for residents and businesses - saying there are some major water and sewer projects that will have to be done in next few years that are going to be expensive. Being a small Village of 1.6-square-miles, he said it’s really hard to raise taxes and they intend to look for grants and work diligently with EGLE and other governmental entities to help get funding to get the projects done in a timely manner – adding no one wants sewer backups or other system issues.

Compounding problems is that water usage is down for various reasons but debt remains the same.

Buerman said people are using less water, things are getting more efficient like toilets and faucets, and some are even capping sprinkler systems. Thus, he said they’ve seen a drop in water usage but still have the same infrastructure and costs - and those costs keep going up. Buerman said they will likely have to start looking at possibly raising rates down the road – stressing they don’t want to and are working hard to figure out different alternatives right now but there's a good chance within the year they’ll have to raise rates to keep up with system debt.

As for the billing system, Buerman said they appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as they work through this transition process and they’ll keep people informed along the way.