Some Hammond residents are still waiting for their water bills, as the water department transitions to an outside vendor. Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. says the outsourcing of billing is meant to improve efficiency, but some bills were delayed during the changeover.
Responding to questions from the city council Monday, McDermott said he wasn't immediately sure of the financial impact but stressed that no water department employees would lose their jobs because of the change. "There's no layoffs at the water department," McDermott told council members. "If anything, they're completely overworked in the business office because we went to monthly billing and it doubled their workload, and they've been slammed with work."
McDermott says the city tried to notify the affected water customers. He expects the issue to be resolved shortly.
