Online option not ready for NBV sanitation bills

North Belle Vernon garbage bills will go out this week, but online billing won’t be an option quite yet.

Sanitation service is still running smoothly with the borough’s new refuse provider, ProWaste LLC, but the same can’t be said for the implementation of the new billing system.

In addition to choosing a new provider at the end of last year, council agreed in November to pay $5,786 per year to VARDAR Systems to update its accounting software from QuickBooks.

The new system offered a utility option to allow residents to pay their bills, including garbage, online.

Borough Secretary Leanna Book has been working with the company since January to get the system set up and the utility option up and running. Last week she reported to council that there have been a few hiccups on the company’s end and online billing won’t be available right away.

“One issue right now is that they haven’t been able get the get online billing set up,” she told council. “It’s been a bit of a struggle and we are trying to get it done, but it might be a few months.”

President Brett Berish said if the utility option isn’t working, the company should reimburse the borough.

“We’re paying for a system, if it’s not usable, we need to get something back,” he said. “Maybe 10% off every month we don’t have it, or at least something.”

Book said she hopes the online payment option will be available sooner rather than later, but said in the meantime residents can pay their bills as they always have — in person, by check or in the drop box located at the borough building.

VARDAR Systems is not only used for utility bills and other payments, but it entirely replaced the borough’s QuickBooks system, used for accounting, that was antiquated.