A Letter From Town Supervisor Puccioni Regarding Utility Bills

My fellow Niskayuna residents,

I understand that some residents may have been confused upon receiving your Town utility bills last week. I’m very sorry that we did not include a letter that explains the changes.

The bills include an important process change for residents in Sewer District #1 and reflect new rates that went into effect in July, 2023. 

  • Water and sewer charges are made up of debt service and operation and maintenance costs.
  • For all residents there is a water and sewer fee on the property tax bills.  This amount should only reflect debt service for capital improvement projects.
  • For residents in Sewer District 1 the fee of $402.97 included operations and maintenance costs in their 2022 property tax bill. This was an incorrect billing process that was corrected in 2023. 
  • Impacted residents of Sewer District 1 received notification in January of 2023 via postcard that the operations and maintenance portion of the sewer fees would be removed from their property taxes and would appear on their utility bill. 
  • Only the debt service of $76.08 remained on the 2023 property tax bill for residents in Sewer District 1.
  • This resulted in a decrease of approximately $325 on the 2023 tax bill for residents of Sewer District 1. 
  • All residents now have utility bills that include water and sewer charges based on individual usage.
  • All residents will still have water and sewer charges on their property tax bills to pay for capital debt service.

The Town is taking the following steps to improve communication and address questions and concerns:

  • We will resend the utility bills for water district #1 households, accompanied by a letter of explanation of charges.
  • If you have specific questions about your utility bill, we encourage you to call Christine Lischynsky, Water Billing Clerk, at 518.377.8411. You can also access a March, 2023 town video presentation and FAQ on the town dedicated town website. 
  • The Town Board will vote to extend the utility bill payment deadline to June 30th at its April 30th meeting.

Thank you for your patience. We understand that change is not easy, especially when it impacts our family budgets. These were tough, but necessary decisions made to meet the rising costs of delivering water and sewer services and to make the system fair, so you only pay for what you use. 

Sincerely,
Jaime Lynn Puccioni
Niskayuna Town Supervisor