By Zach Simeone

VOORHEESVILLE — Residents outside the village who purchase Voorheesville water and are behind in their bills now have to pay sooner, or they face having their water service cut off.

Tuesday, the village board approved a change water regulations. Residents outside the village who are delinquent in paying their water bills as of May 1 of the following year will be charged a $100 administrative fee along with having to cover the cost of a mailed notice from the village.

Such users will also be subject to having their water service cut off.

The motion for the new regulation was made by Trustee Jack Stevens, seconded by Trustee Richard Berger; it passed unanimously.

Prior to this, outside purchasers of village water had until May 31 to pay their bills from the previous year, after which they risked losing their water. But this, Trustee David Cardona said, caused the village problems.

“Basically, for this year, the water bill goes out on June 1 whether you’re in the village or out of the village,” Cardona said. “You have until July 31 to pay it, after which you will incur late fees. We reserve the right to terminate the water service the following May.”

Since users previously had until May 31^st to pay their bills, the village had only two days to process late bills before the new bills went out on June 1.

“The date was changed because, if they have until May 31, the new bills that go out June 1 go out too soon for us to know whether or not the previous bill has been paid, and whether or not fees are due from the previous year,” said Cardona. They need to be “cleared up and processed” before the following year’s water bill goes out, he said.

“Plus, if you live in the village, we can just add the unpaid amount to your property tax. That’s not the case with out-of-village properties,” he added.

“We’re in a unique situation because we supply water to out-of-village users,” said Cardona. “If there’s an unpaid bill from one of them, we can’t levy their property taxes, because they don’t pay property tax to us. So we need this to help keep track of out-of-village water users.”

Other business

In other business, the village board:

— Offered condolences to the families of Eugene Spanswick and Garry Veeder;

— Approved a contract with Barton and Loguidice for a study of the village sewer system; and

— Announced a collection drive to raise money for the troops in Iraq. The drive will take place at the Voorheesville firehouse, 12 Altamont Road, on June 14 from noon to 3 p.m.