Old Bills Hit Homeowners: “A Major Screw-up”
Some 300 Princeton homeowners are receiving proposed sewer inspection and repair bills for work that, in some cases, was done a decade ago. Acknowledging the delay as “a major screw-up,” in the words of Princeton Council member Jenny Crumiller, the governing body heard from staff members at its Monday meeting that the problem is being tackled.
“We understand it is a serious situation and we are taking corrective steps to address the issue,” Town Administrator Marc Dashield said. “We are reviewing our processes so we move forward to make sure this does not happen in the future.”
More than 100 property owners were the first to get billed earlier this month for inspections and replacement of sewer laterals done some 10 years ago. Those homes are on Harris Road, Hillside Road, Loomis Court, Oakland Street, Cuyler Road, and Walnut Lane. The second round, in the area of Tyson Lane, Littlebrook Road, Abernathy Drive and Clover Lane, are scheduled to receive proposed assessments next month, for sewer laterals inspected and replaced seven years ago.
A third group of approximately 100 homeowners in the area of Gallup Road, Grover Avenue, Roper Road, Battle Road, and Westerly Road, will also get assessments in September, for work done between 2010 and 2012. Homeowners on Park Place and the surrounding neighborhood are to be billed as well, for work done last year.
Mr. Dashield said the bills were not sent at the appropriate times because the Princeton Board of Improvement Assessors never confirmed them. Chief Financial Officer Kathy Monzo said that the board does not have regular meetings. The one held this month С a hearing on the proposed assessments С was the first one since consolidation.
Councilwoman Jo Butler asked staff members what made it evident that the bills had never been sent to homeowners. Ms. Monzo said, “We’ve kind of known all along it has been out there. It just hadn’t been done.” She added that title searches for those who purchased their homes after the projects were done should have turned up the assessments. “The title companies do not do an official search,” she said. “It does not relieve title companies from their responsibility. Homeowners may have a claim with their title insurance companies. It should have shown up on the title.”
It was suggested that the board hold meetings annually to help prevent similar problems in the future. Ms. Monzo said the town should put a policy in place that dictates billing six months to a year from a project’s completion.
Council is planning to vote on the proposed assessments for the first group at its October 12 meeting. “After they are confirmed, bills will go out to residents saying Council confirmed your assessment and here is your bill,” Mr. Dashield said.
Ms. Crumiller asked whether a preliminary letter that is going out to residents advising them of the process will contain an apology. “It would go a long way in easing the situation,” she said. “We should apologize in that letter and the final assessment letter.” Mayor Liz Lempert agreed with the apology idea, adding, “The letter should include as much clarity as we can, really walking people through the process and showing them we’ve taken steps to make sure we have a robust process going forward.”
Councilwoman Heather Howard said she had experienced a similar situation in 2008, when she was billed for sidewalk work done six years earlier, before she and her family had bought their house. “It seems like a poor function of government,” she said. “How can we help? It undermines confidence. We want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”