NEW ORLEANS — Some New Orleans residents were charged the city’s $24 sanitation fee even though it was supposed to be suspended for the month of November.
The city waived the fee for one month after twice-a-week trash pickup was cut back to once-a-week. The city made the change in early October after the two primary solid waste contractors -- Metro Service Group and Richard’s Disposal fell behind on their routes. The fee reportedly appeared on thousands of Sewerage and Water Board bills.
WWL-TV received numerous messages from customers about the problem. The TV station then notified SWBNO which confirmed the mistake. A spokesperson said the utility is now in the process of voiding the bills that mistakenly included the sanitation fee.
“Accounts that billed on Monday, November 29, 2021, mistakenly billed with the sanitation fee. At this time this appears to be the only billing cycle that is impacted, which is roughly 5,000 accounts. We have opened a critical case with our vendor correcting the issue. They are in the process of voiding the November bills and rebill the accounts and send the customers a corrected bill.”
Customers can expect a new bill in the coming weeks with a note on the bill explaining the correction and a new due date.
“Customers on auto-pay don’t have to worry, because their bill will be voided before the due date,” the spokesperson said. “Customers who have paid the sanitation fee will see a credit balance reflected on future bills.”
Customers with questions or concerns about their Sewerage and Water Board account should call 52-WATER.
