LYNN — After confusion and an outcry from residents, the city has changed its billing system for trash fees.
The city announced the new system on Friday.
In December, aggravated residents made calls to their ward councilors and councilors-at-large about a number of problems with bills for the trash fee, which debuted in June. Four months later, the city implemented a new billing and collection system that is user-friendly and provides residents with options, according to Michael Bertino, the city’s chief financial officer.
“The reason we switched is we didn’t have the right software package,” Bertino said. “We tried to use a generic system in efforts to save money and not spend it. It was not designed to create a whole database, it was designed to do single billings.”
Some residents were confused because they didn’t realize the annual $90 trash fee was going to be split into two $45 bills; some residents were receiving bills in their individual name as well as a bill in their spouse’s name; some were paying their bill in full, as told, but still being charged a $30 late fee; and some residents living in multi-family homes were unsure what their bill even was.
In collaboration with PKS Associates, Inc., a vendor that collects Lynn’s excise taxes, city employees developed a new database at no cost to the city. Bertino said PKS already had the shell of the software, so the city’s information technology department was able to get the new database up and running in a timely manner.
“We created a database that will be able to build and maintain changes that we make,” said Bertino. “If someone gets an abatement and they are 69 years old, we won’t have to go in and change that every year. Whereas the other system, because we were taking it from the assessor’s office, needed to be updated all the time.”
With the new system, residents will have the option of paying the $90 solid waste fee in one or two installments (one at the beginning of April and one in September). Abatement options are available for seniors, owners of unoccupied units and owners who use private companies to manage their trash collection.
All abatement forms are available in the Collector’s Room, Assessor’s Room, or DPW offices and website. Trash fee payments can be made via mail or in person at the DPW or Collector’s offices, said Bertino.
Interest on late payments will accrue from the due date at 8 percent each year and any unpaid amounts may be placed as a lien on the next tax bill or subject to all collection procedures permitted by law.
Bertino said the new system should cut down on any confusion going forward. The balances from the previous year are not reflected in this current bill statement and any amounts still outstanding from 2018 will be collected separately from the new billing system.
Residents with questions about the fee can call the DPW at 781-268-8000.
“Just like all new things, nothing’s perfect but we will strive to continue to make it better,” Bertino said. “In the long run it will be much better but the price was right and it was a good effort by everyone involved.”