NEWS RELEASE
August 6, 2003

HARTFORD -- The Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) is reminding customers that a one-year amnesty period on interest charges for late bills expired as of July 1, 2003.

In July 2002, the MDC Board of Commissioners adopted a proposal to grant amnesty on interest charges on past due water and sewer user charge bills.  The amnesty did not excuse customers from paying the principal amount due on their bills, but did waive, for one year, any outstanding interest charges on bills that were past due.

Customers with past due amounts will notice any interest charges reflected in their current bills.

The MDC reminds customers that they are responsible for paying their bills or risk having their water shut off, having a lien placed against their property, or being taken to court for collection.

Water bill payments are due within one month of the date they are issued. An interest rate of 1% per month is applied to the amounts that remain outstanding for more than 30 days.

Reminders of the MDC’s collection process are being included in all delinquent bills. With certain exceptions, customers who don’t pay their water bills risk having the water shut off. It will not be turned on again until all outstanding charges, including a $50 restoration fee, are paid. In some cases, the bills are turned over to attorneys for collection.

The MDC will continue to work with customers to arrange payment terms for outstanding bills.

 A non-profit municipal corporation chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1929, the MDC supplies water and sewer services to its eight member municipalities:  Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor.  The MDC also supplies treated water to portions of Glastonbury, East Granby, South Windsor, Farmington and Portland. 

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