York City apologizes for refuse-billing error, says omitted weeks will be reapplied

A city official (name not provided) apologized at a public meeting for a billing error that left two weeks of 2024 refuse charges off residents’ bills after the city resumed refuse billing from York Water Company.

The official said the two weeks of service at the end of 2024 “got dropped off” during the transition back to city billing and were supposed to be added to residents’ second- and third-quarter bills. That adjustment was not included or explained on the statements that went out, the official said, and the city is apologizing for the omission: “I wanna start off with an apology from the city, regarding the refuse billing that went out,” the official said.

Why it matters: residents saw steadier, larger-looking bills after the city switched to quarterly billing and because the omitted two weeks were intended to be spread over later quarterly statements. City officials also said the refuse contract had higher costs because only one company bid for the work, which increased the contract price the city had to accept.

Details: the city moved refuse billing from York Water Company back to city administration at the end of last year. The official said the last two weeks of the 2024 billing cycle were not charged at that time and should have been added to subsequent quarterly bills but were not. The official described the omitted charge as “a few dollars” per account and said the city planned to add those amounts to the second- and third-quarter bills so residents would see a small reduction when the correction is made.

The official took responsibility for the communication lapse: “That was a really, a big mistake, and, sorry our folks did that. I didn't know that was happening, but, I have to take responsibility for everything that happens, with our, employees here at the city of York,” the official said.

Officials also reminded residents of operational details tied to refuse service: recycling collection occurs Thursdays and Fridays.

Next steps: the official said the city will apply the omitted weeks to the stated quarters and that affected residents should see a slight bill decrease when the correction occurs. No formal vote or policy change was recorded during the meeting.