If you are moving into a new home or business and require water and/or sewer service, please call the HMUA Business Office at 852-3622 and have the following information available:
Calling prior to occupancy will allow our personnel to obtain a start meter reading and ensure that you are only billed for the utilities that you use.
If the water service at your new address is Off, your presence is required to turn on the service. This is necessary to avoid flooding or wasting water due to fixtures that may have been left in the open position. There is no charge to turn on the service if performed during regular business hours. However, if this service must be performed after regular working hours, or on a weekend or holiday, there will be a charge to cover the overtime required to perform the work. No deposit is required to open a new account.
If the service account is to be placed in the name of the Tenant, the HMUA will forward an authorization form to the owner of the property. Upon receipt of the completed and signed form, the account will be placed in the name of the Tenant. Any delinquent notices for the account will be forwarded to both the Tenant and the Owner.
If you are planning to obtain water and/or sewer utilities service for a new building or dwelling, or proposing an expansion of an existing building, other than a single family residence, please contact the HMUA Business office several months prior to construction to obtain an Application For Service.
Meters measure the amount of water that flows from the water main into each home or building. Some buildings are serviced by more than one meter to allow for separate metering and billing of more than one commercial or dwelling unit. The HMUA utilizes an ARB (Automatic Reading and Billing) System, that enables our personnel to read your water meter from outside your home or business. The HMUA meter reader connects a small visual reading device to a receptacle mounted on the outside of your home. The receptacle is connected to your water meter. The visual reading device displays and records the water meter reading. Upon completion of the meter reading route, the device is connected to a computer and the meter readings are downloaded into HMUA’s WinBill for Municipal Utilities software for processing.
Your water meter is a precision measuring device with a Straight-Reading Dial. You can read your water meter in the same way as the mileage on an automobile odometer. HMUA personnel read your water meter about every 90 days, approximately 1 to 2 weeks prior to the Bill date. If your meter or ARB has been damaged or is inaccessible, we will try to contact you to make an appointment to correct the problem immediately. If the problem can not be resolved prior to billing, an estimated reading will be calculated based upon prior consumption.
As a customer of the HMUA, you are responsible to maintain full access to the water meter and ARB outside reading receptacle for reading, maintenance and repair by HMUA personnel. This means keeping shrubbery trimmed near the ARB outside receptacle. If you own a dog (or other animal which may cause harm) you will be required to keep the animal penned or restrained and away from the meter reader (when requested). You are also required to keep your water meter accessible within your basement for maintenance or repair by HMUA personnel (by appointment).
Water and Sewer Utility bills are mailed to our customers every three months, normally on the first business day of the month. The following table indicates the areas that are billed each month:
| Quarterly Bill Dates | Areas Billed |
|---|---|
| Jan, Apr, July, Oct | Hackettstown (North) Grand Ave, High St & North and College View Area. Independence Township |
| Feb, May, Aug, Nov | Hackettstown (Central) between Grand Ave & Warren St and between High St & Willow Grove St. Mansfield Township |
| Mar, June, Sept, Dec | Hackettstown (South) Warren St, Willow Grove St. & South. Mt. Olive Township Washington Township |
The utility bill is due and payable upon receipt. Prompt payment of your bill will help us reduce costs and keep our rates low.
If you have reason to believe that your bill is incorrect or disagree with the charges on your bill, please call our Business Office immediately.
You may pay your bill in person at the HMUA Business Office, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays). The Business Office is located at 424 Hurley Drive in Hackettstown. Payments may also be placed in the Night Slot in the front door of the building. (checks only please) If mailing your payment, please return the right side of the bill with a check or money order made payable to the HMUA. Please write your account number on the check and mail to:
HMUA
P.O. Box 450
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
The utility bill is due and payable upon receipt. If payment is not received by the last business day of the month, interest will be charged to the account at the annual rate of 18 percent. If payment is not received by the 5th (35 days) day of the following month, a Friendly Reminder is forwarded to both the billing customer and the legal property owner. If payment is not received by the 15th day (45 days) of the following month, a Service Shut Off Notice is mailed to both the customer of record and the legal property owner. If the account remains unpaid within 60 days, a Service Order will be generated, and a Collection Fee of $35 will be charged to the account. An HMUA Serviceman will try to contact the customer at the service address in an effort to collect the outstanding balance. If payment is not received at the time of collection, service will be discontinued and a $35.00 Turn-On Fee is charged to the account. Service will be reinstated upon receipt of the entire outstanding balance.
We understand that situations arise which do not allow a customer to issue payment on time. Please call us immediately if you are unable to pay your bill. Our Customer Service Representatives are authorized to grant an extension if a payment schedule can be arranged. It saves our customers time, money and effort if the payment schedule is arranged before utility service is disconnected.
When a bill remains unpaid after the collection process, a lien warning notice is mailed to both the customer of record and to the legal property owner. If the bill remains unpaid, the lien is recorded against the property with the Town or Township in which the property is located. A notice of this action is sent to the legal property owner.
The advertisement of the lien sale will run in the local newspaper for (4) consecutive weeks before the lien sale and will be posted in prominent places within the Town or Township.
To remove the lien, full payment is required and must be made directly to the Town or Township Tax Collector.
For more information, please call the HMUA Business Office at
(908) 852-3622.
To discontinue service when you are moving, please call the HMUA Business Office at 852-3622 to request a final meter reading. A Final bill will be calculated to ensure that you are only charged for the utility service you used. Please have the following information available: