Water Customers May See Refund

The Glasgow City Council met and approved to pay back water customers over the next six months after a glitch in software was found by the auditors that made their visit in November. The software was unable to convert cubic feet and gallons. The glitch only made pennies in a difference in Glasgow City billing, but over a year it added up.

A total of $38,120.16 is owed and will be credited to both commercial and residential customers, just over $15,450 is owed to commercial users, the leftover $22,668 going toward residents who hooked up to city water from November last year to October this year.

The auditors caught the mistake before more added up. The water committee recommended that the city council pay water customers back before the end of the fiscal year in increments. Not every customer will receive a refund, and some may actually owe a small amount to the city. As the city clerk-treasurer wades through each account to figure out the exact amount she advised that the details wouldn't be available until after the New Year.

The city released the following press release.

“The city officials with the assistance of the city of Glasgow's independent auditors have identified an inconsistent conversion factor that was part of the software utilized to compute rate payers water bills since the water rate increase on Nov. 7, 2013.

“The incorrect conversion factor affects both commercial and residential water accounts. The identified conversion factor in the software miscalculated water usage only. Base rates were not affected. The identified conversion factor has been corrected in the software, therefore the time frame for which the city will be recalculating the usage data will be from Nov. 7, 2013 to Oct. 23, 2014.

During that time frame, approximately 58 percent of commercial accounts will be due a refund in the form of a credit to their account, and approximately 42 percent of commercial accounts will owe an additional payment. The approximate range of credits will be from 25 cents and up to $1,000 per account for the time frame. The approximate range of payment due will be from 8 cents up to $38 per account for the same period of time.

“Residential accounts are currently being recalculated. The number of residential accounts that the city of Glasgow serves is much greater than the number of commercial, therefore it will take the city longer to identify all the credits and payments due for residential users.

“The reason for the inconsistent conversion factor was due to differences in water meters in the distribution system; some older water meters still in use calculate water usage based on cubic foot volume, where as the newer meters calculate volume based on gallons. The software maker had a conversion factor in the system, however it was minutely miscalculated usage. The purpose of the annual audit it to help the city identify issues and correct any problems. In this situation, the audit performed as intended and the situation is being corrected.

“Moving forward, the Glasgow City Water Department has been actively replacing all older syle meters and is almost complete with those system updates. At this point in time, fewer than 20 older meters are still in use. The conversion software has been corrected, checked and is performing as intended. The “Glasgow Water Committee has addressed the matter and made a recommendation to the city council for correction of accounts.

“The city council has set that the credit and payment period shall occur over a six month period of time, beginning on Jan. 2.

“If you would like more information, or wish to check the status of your account, please call the Glasgow Water Clerk at 406-228-2476, or email at [email protected].

"Please keep in mind that the status of residential and commercial accounts will not be available until Jan. 2.”