ORANGE — The township has a new water company and has changed its billing system.
On Aug. 2, the City Council approved a new water operator and management company for the water, sewer and stormwater systems. The previous operations agreement was expiring and the then operator, Veolia, was not interested in submitting a new bid, according to the township.
The new operator selected by Orange is Woodard and Curran, a national engineering company with a water and sewer operating division. Among other clients, they operate the Maple Shade Water and Sewer System and the Boston Water and Sewer Authority. They are an eminently qualified operator duly licensed in New Jersey, according to a press release from the township.
Transition from the previous operator to the current operator has taken place over the course of the last three months.
As part of that transition Orange seized upon the opportunity to consolidate water and sewer billing within the Tax Department and place the billing system on the same financial software as all tax and other financial billing and financial record keeping used throughout Orange.
That change required a migration of data from the old software system used by the old operator who performed billing services to the new system in house. This migration was lengthy and complex and not without challenges, the release said.
As part of this change, Orange will be keeping all of the payment options previously offered through Vcolia including the following:
• Payment in person at City Hall.
• Payment by mail to City Hall, 29 North Day St., Orange NJ, 07050 Attn: Water Billing;
• Payment by credit card or ACH (automated check) through the city website;
• Payment by phone will be available on Jan. 1, 2024;
Some residents have complained about an inability to pay their water bill through the website over the last two weeks but problems with the system have been corrected, the release said. However, Orange will waive interest and penalties for late payments through Nov. 30. The 24 hour customer service and emergency service telephone number is 866-893-0546.
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