If your eyes almost popped out of your head when you opened your New Castle County sewer bill, you weren’t alone.
The county sent residents sewer bills last week labeled as “Quarter 1” bills instead of the usual annual bills.
New Castle County officials were quick to point out in a Facebook post that bills were mislabeled.
“It’s come to our attention that there is a typo on the bill,” the post explained.
“New Castle County would like to clarify that residential sewer customers are not billed quarterly and are only billed once annually and that the phrase “QUARTER 1” was erroneously included in the title of your 2022 annual sewer bill.”
But that didn’t stop residents from lighting up social media with their alarm – and later relief.
“Thank you for clarifying it. I about had a heart attack when I opened the bill and saw that it was quarterly,” said one Facebook user.
“Was wondering how it could be my annual bill and quarter 1 at the same time lol,” a commenter said.
“If the County wants to hire a proofreader/technical writer, let me know,” said one commenter on Nextdoor.
“Thank God. I saw that and was about to lose it. Thanks for the clarification,” said another user.
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New Castle County residents pay an average annual sewer fee of about $89.
On top of the normal cost, sewage bills now include an additional fee of at least $25 that reflects capital costs invested in systemwide wastewater infrastructure, as announced last spring and began last summer.
This fee is expected to produce upward of $7 million in revenue per year but will not apply to residents who receive disability- or age-related property tax exemptions.
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