Lawrence village recoups $20,000 in overpaid utility bills

Working in tandem with an outside company, the Village of Lawrence recently recovered nearly $20,000 in refunds from both their electric power and telecommunications utilities.

Lawrence sought out the services of Manhattan-based TRI Utility Cost Reductions, Inc., a utility auditing firm, to review the bills to help ensure that no money was wasted, village officials said. Telecommunications utilities encompass landlines, wireless phones and internet.

“The funds that we receive that are recovered are put back into the public fund and are used to relieve some of the burden to taxpayers,” Deputy Village Treasurer Lina Fusco said. She added that the money is used wherever it is needed, such as roadwork. The current operating budget for Lawrence is $5.98 million.

Lilli Steinberg, chief executive officer of TRI Utility Cost Reductions, Inc., explained that billing errors may arise from time to time that qualify governments and businesses for a refund due to the complex billing process. Her firm is paid a percentage of the amount of money recovered, she said.

“There’s different things that you don’t know about that qualify you for refunds,” Steinberg said. “We’re always trying to help.”