Your water bill will arrive late this month, thanks to a last-minute bill insert. The Board voted today at an 8:00 AM special meeting to send an insert letter every month going forward. There is no word on who will be writing or approving these inserts, or how much they will cost. The contractor who will produce and insert the letter (Inframark) is getting a blank check. I also question the process by which Inframark was instructed to delay mailing this month’s bill. It is supposed to be mailed on the 25th of each month. If an email can halt a standard operating procedure without formal process, what else is being done behind closed doors?
They’re going to have to move quickly. Payments are still due on the 10th. I’ve already heard from constituents who feel the turnaround between the bill’s arrival and the due date is too short. The window will be even tighter now, but never mind that. One of the Board members who voted for this blank check is campaigning on the slogan "Accountability Matters."
Might we modestly suggest he adopt a new slogan: "Hypocrisy Happens"?
Speaking of water bills, why is the credit card surcharge 3%? That’s high for utility payments. Credit card processing fees are essentially fraud insurance. A retail merchant who ships out goods to a fraudster loses everything if a payment is reversed. Fortunately, the District isn’t in such a tough spot. If someone disputes a payment, we just return the money, add the unpaid balance to the next month’s bill, and turn the water off if it isn’t paid.
Because of this low-risk setup, card companies offer utilities much lower surcharges, or even flat-fee processing. So why can’t we have that?
Because the District lacks data sovereignty. Our operator, Inframark, handles every part of the billing process, and water bill payments are farmed out to a subcontractor. It seems the lowest bidder didn’t bother jumping through the hoops with card processors to secure the lower utility rate.
Or worse, maybe they did secure it and are just quietly pocketing the difference.
The Board is not exercising oversight, so who knows? Either way, the rate residents are stuck paying is a standard web commerce processing fee, like those offered by Stripe and PayPal.
If the Board could bring this fee down, now that would be an update worth crowing about.