Sycamore water billing error corrected, city manager says

SYCAMORE – In late August Sycamore residents received an email indicating they do not owe the city anything on their next water bill, but city officials said that’s not the case.

A social media post from the city about the situation was posted the same day as the erroneous email.

“Sycamore residents, please note: due to a system error, water bills were emailed showing a $0 balance. This issue has been fixed, and the correct balance should be reflected if you click on your invoice,” officials wrote.

On Tuesday, Sycamore City Manager confirmed the error and wrote in an email with Shaw Local News Network that the system error stemmed from a city vendor.

“Yes, this was corrected on the same day, Tuesday, 8/27/24. It was a software glitch, which the vendor promptly resolved 30 minutes later,” Hall wrote.

Hall wrote that the city received feedback from residents about the email with incorrect billing information and “were able to resolve the issue promptly.”

City residents should have since received a follow up email with the accurate billed amount, according to the social media post.

In March 2023, Sycamore City Council voted unanimously to support fee hikes on water use, meter maintenance, radium treatment bills.

Sycamore is expected to collected $2,406,350 in revenue from water user fee service charges in 2024, according to the city’s FY24 budget, but Hall wrote that the software glitch will not impact that estimated revenue.

“There are no financial implications for either the City or the residents,” Hall wrote.