Sewer Billing
Sewer utility bills are mailed once a year. Payments are due on September 1st with a 10-day grace period. Delinquent sewer charges are subject to interest at a rate of 18% per annum.
Sewer bills are considered a utility bill and mortgage companies do not pay these charges even if they pay your property taxes. Unpaid sewer charges are subject to tax sale which will result in a lien being placed on your property.
If you need a duplicate bill, you may access a PDF copy on our online payment portal by accessing your Utility account and clicking View Current Bill.
How to Pay
Online
Payments can be made via the Utility module on our online payment portal.
AutoPay is now available. If you choose to sign up, sewer charges will be debited automatically on the due date. Once enrolled, homeowners will receive an email detailing the date and amount due prior to being withdrawn.
Bank BillPay
BillPay initiated via your bank is now accepted electronically. This is a quick and easy option available to residents with no fee charged by the Township. There are some important instructions to follow when setting up your payment.
Payee Name: Scotch Plains Sewer Utility
Address: 430 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains NJ 07076-1716
Your account number is listed on your sewer utility bill as shown below
Don’t forget to include the -0 in your sewer utility account number. If you do not do this, the payment will be applied to your property tax account. We cannot move payments from tax to sewer.
If you wish to pay both taxes and sewer, you must set up two separate payees.
If your bank informs you that the payment will be sent via a paper check rather than electronically, you may have entered some information incorrectly.
Please double check the address and your account number before submitting the payment.
24-Hour Drop Box
There is a drop-box in the Police Department at 430 Park Avenue which can be accessed 24/7. Do not put cash in the drop box under any circumstances. Payments left in the drop box are credited on the next business day.
In person
Payments can be made in the tax office at 430 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076. Check or Cash only – Credit Card payments can only be made on the website.
By mail
Make your check payable to Scotch Plains Sewer Utility and mail with the original bill stub to the lockbox in Newark.
Postmarks are not accepted. Allow ample time when mailing payments - we must have physical possession of your payment by the end of the grace period in order to avoid interest charges.
Do not post-date your check. Any post-dated checks will be returned to you and could result in interest charges.
To update your mailing address, please fill out the Address Change Form located on the Forms page and submit it to the Tax Assessor. There can only be one mailing address per property. The Township does not have the ability to record separate mailing addresses for tax and sewer bills.
Bill Calculation
Bills are calculated by taking water usage data from October, November and December of the prior year and multiplying the total by 4 to give an annualized amount. These months are chosen to exclude summer water usage such as irrigation and filling swimming pools.
For residential use, the categories are as follows:
0-25,000 gallons - $225
25,001-75,000 gallons - $325
75,001-200,000 gallons - $360
200,001 gallons and above - $805
For commercial and mixed-use properties there is a base fee of $310 which covers the first 25,000 gallons. Each additional gallon is charged at $0.0085.
The number of gallons used to calculate your bill is listed as shown below:
Please note that for properties with multiple meters, the printed number may not reflect all of the usage used in your bill calculation.
Appeals must be filed by October 1 and are handled by the Engineering department – call (908) 322-6700 Ext. 306 for further information. You will be required to submit water bills from January to December of the previous year. An appeal will only be successful if it can be shown that your actual water usage across the prior calendar year would have placed you in a lower tier. Please be aware that if you file an appeal and your water usage during the prior year is actually higher than you were billed for, your bill will be adjusted accordingly.
Tax Sale
The Tax Collector is required by state law to hold a tax sale each year for delinquent tax and sewer charges. If you do not pay the full amount of taxes or sewer charges from the previous year by the date of the sale, the past due balance will be auctioned off to a third party and a lien will be placed on your property. Once you have received a notice of tax sale payment can no longer be made using the online portal. A certified check, money order or cash is required to remove the property from tax sale.
If a lien has been placed on your property, please contact the office at (908) 322-6700 Ext 207 or 208 for further information and redemption instructions.