RICHMOND, Va. — Garry Bloomfield lives in Richmond and pays close attention to his utility bills, especially after an audit revealed the City of Richmond had fallen into the routine of estimating a significant volume of bills month after month.
“I am concerned. Am I still using the amount of water that they said that I'm using? I may be using less, I may be using more. I'm not sure," Bloomfield said.
CBS 6 first spoke with Bloomfield in March 2023 when the audit was released.
It showed the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) estimated more than 130,000 bills in a year. About 10,000 service lines were estimated for at least half the year, and nearly 4,000 of those service lines were estimated for all 12 months of the year – a violation of the department's own policy which caps consecutive estimated bills at three times.
The auditor noted the practice negatively impacted accurate billings and could lead to households being charged large amounts after multiple months of estimated bills.
Giving You A Voice
Audit shows Richmond is overcharging thousands on utility bills
Fast forward ten months, and Bloomfield said he's disappointed to still be receiving estimated bills.
Out of his past three bills, which he showed to CBS 6, only one of them involved an "actual" reading of his water meter.
“I just hope the city can really get this rectified so consumers will feel more at ease about when they get their water bill, that they've actually been charged exactly what they use," Bloomfield said.
In a presentation to the Richmond City Council last week, DPU Director April Bingham said the agency had since improved its number of meters getting a true, actual reading.
In November 2023, more than 97% of water meters in the field were read – an increase from 85% in January 2023.
Additionally, Bingham said the department cleared its backlog of 14,000 water adjustments and customer transactions by December 27, 2023, after it reduced its call center hours for 27 weeks to focus on addressing outstanding service requests.
Call Center Problems
However, she acknowledged a big problem remains in the call center.
“I’ve tried to call sometimes, and it's just impossible to get anyone on the telephone," Bloomfield said.
Council members have noticed the same thing.
“We are the ones getting all these phone calls from our citizens that are staying on the line for over an hour waiting to get through. That is unacceptable," Councilmember Reva Trammell (8th District) told CBS 6.
"Our office continues to receive significant outreach from residents who are having difficulties getting in contact with the Department of Public Utilities. We are acutely aware of the long wait times people are experiencing, and we continue to escalate this issue with the administration," Councilmember Katherine Jordan (2nd District) said in a December constituent newsletter.
Bingham said DPU gets, on average, 1,200 calls a day.
She believes many of them are to inquire about recent overbilling or underbilling as the department catches up on its estimated readings and makes billing adjustments.
Improving customer service hold times is Bingham's number one priority for January, but she admitted staffing levels are making it difficult.
"We don't have capacity, and I'm trying to create capacity where there is none," Bingham told the council. “We didn’t get into this overnight and we're not going to get out of it overnight.”
CBS 6 requested an interview with Bingham on Monday but was told to send questions through email. We asked for an update on the current staffing levels and operations of the call center and are still waiting to hear back.
“I think they're understaffed. I don't think they have enough people in the call center that are able to take the high volume of calls that they're getting every single day," Trammell said.
Bingham said in her presentation that DPU was in the process of upgrading technology systems to improve the customer service experience and provide online assistance for important customer account information.
Additionally, she said DPU was working to procure additional call center assistance.
Bloomfield said he's pushing for continued progress and hoping to see those "actual" meter readings on his bills soon.
“I just hope they can really, really, really get the problem solved for the City of Richmond residents, because people are here every day working trying to make ends meet, and nobody needs a shocker water bill," Bloomfield said.
In November 2023, the City Council approved the creation of a commission to oversee and provide support and accountability on matters related to the operations and maintenance of DPU services.
The commission will be tasked with giving its first report to the council later this year.
Councilmember Jordan said in her newsletter that addressing ongoing concerns, such as the ones Bloomfield raised, "was one of the many reasons for the recent creation of the Public Utilities & Services Commission."
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