BY WALTER ELLIOTT
ORANGE – It is not often that a mayor apologizes for a misstep, and in three languages, but that is what Orange Mayor Dwayne D. Warren tried to do over a sudden water payment mishap here Nov. 7.
Warren had posted on the official city website’s CivicEngage page that Tuesday a five page open letter regarding the 11th hour change of water bill mailing addresses of Nov. 1. A second and third copy of the Mayor’s remarks were respectively given in Spanish and French Creole.
“I write in response to concerns regarding the lack of notice of the change in the water management company and the disruption it has caused to residents,” opened the Mayor. “On behalf of my Administration, I apologize for residents on a Zoom call concerning this and a plethora of other issues. Finally, we’ve identified and addressed the source of the communication breakdown.”
Many residents and other Veolia customers found a notification on the Hackensack-based water management company’s website Nov. 1 that it is no longer taking water bill payments. The Orange Water Department customers on its watch were instead to address checks and send them to the city’s tax department billing office.
Veolia’s announcement came at the start of the Nov. 1 quarterly billing for water, sewer, open space, Orange Public Schools, Essex County and property taxes due Orange. By “due Orange,” the city, like other municipalities, is the collection agent for itself plus the school district and the county.
The announcement also came during the Nov. 1-10 grace period before payments received Nov. 10 or later will be assessed an extra late fee and/or an interest penalty. That Friday also happened to be when New Jersey observes Veterans Day, normally held on Nov. 11, closing municipal, county and state offices.
Warren, however, drew back to the 1990s, when United Water was named to handle the Orange Water Department’s operation, maintenance and billing. The city’s seven wells in the South Mountain Reservation and the Chestnut Street Station purification and pumping plant fell under its supervision.
“United Water was purchased by Suez. Veolia purchased Suez,” continued Warren. “Upon expiration of Veolia’s contract, it chose not to submit a bid because the contract wasn’t lucrative enough.”
The city put out requests for operator interest, one of which was Woodard & Curran, of Maine and East Windsor. The other company, explained Warren, “expressed interest but ultimately didn’t submit a bid.
“It should be noted that the last time the contract was bidded, Only Suez submitted,” said the Mayor. “This is primarily because the City’s account is too small to generate interest from large operating companies, like Veolia, and there are few companies that provide these services.”
The City of Orange, population 34,447, receives 3.8 million gallons daily under United/Suez/Veolia management. Woodard & Curran handles 500 water systems among 17 states, from Boston (pop. 654,776) to Maple Shade (19,131).
“Based on the needs of the City,” said Warren, “Woodard & Curran was awarded the contract.”
The City Council, indeed, passed Resolution 298-2023 in its Aug. 2 Consent agenda. Woodard & Curran are to manage Orange’s water for $14,438,585 for the next five years – or $2,887,717 annually. The awarded contract has two annual extensions plus a five-year option.
Mayor Warren, in his apology letter, said that the latest contract “was done with the same transparency that the law requires: Public Notice, Public Posting of Bid Solicitation and Criteria, Public Opening of Bid Criteria and Public Awarding of Contract.” The public awarding was done at a public council meeting, public comment and council vote.
The Orange Water Department then went through a three-month transition from Veolia to Woodard & Curran. Warren noted that this corporate change was made by “a completely different and unaffiliated company in almost a quarter of a century.”
Administrators at Orange City Hall meanwhile decided to bring water and sewer billing into the Tax Department’s house. That meant transferring data from Veolia’s “old” software system to the Tax Department’s in-house system. A City of Orange release explained that the transfer “was lengthy, complex and not without challenges.”
Integrating water and sewer with the rest of the Tax Department’s billing preserves the Veolia-era’s payment options, including:
- Paying in-person or via mail to Orange City Hall, 29 North Day St., Attn: Water Billing.
- Paying online with a credit or debit card or an automated check.
- Paying by phone – although the Orange release noted that the option will be up in Jan. 1.
The city will be waiving interest and penalty fees now through Nov. 30. There is a 24-hour 1(888) 893-0546 customer and emergency service number.
It does appear to “Local Talk,” however, that someone in City Hall had waited until almost Halloween – Oct. 31 – to post the water billing redirection notice. It may have happened while city staff were immersed in transferring billing data between the old and new software.
The last-minute billing change announcement, in the eyes of some Orange residents, was the latest city government procedural snafu.
“As of Nov. 1, residents of Orange were shocked to discover a notification on Veolia’s website informing them to make future water payments directly to the city: declared a Nov. 3 “Open Letter to the Leadership of Orange.” “This sudden and unannounced change in the water company is the second such change we’ve experienced in the past year, leaving us confused and angered – particularly in the wake of the October 2023 municipal tax increase.”
The letter – signed by officials from the Seven Oaks Society, the Highland Avenue Society, Friends of Metcalf Park, the South ward Neighborhood Alliance, the Orange Citizens Action Group and the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance – stated that the billing change was not announced at the October Council meetings nor the city’s Oct. 29 “Coffee and Conversation.”
The signees called for:
- “A town hall meeting to explain the recent changes.
- “A public statement of apology for the lack of transparency and notification.
- “A thorough review of the systems, policies and individuals responsible for the inadequate communication and abrupt changes in crucial services.
- “Reaffirm (leadership’s) commitment to creating a city that works efficiently for the benefit of its residents.”
Curiously, public and official comments at the City Council’s Nov. 7 live Zoom meeting focused on city elders approving Payment In Lieu Of Taxes for new housing construction. Some critics view such tax abatements as undervaluing and underfunding city services.
“When we do get it wrong, as in this case,” concluded Warren, “I will stand out front to be held accountable.”
