Computer crash leaves MDC unable to issue, pay bills

 

By Don Michak  Journal Inquirer

Published: Saturday, January 7, 2012 2:05 AM EST

 

The Metropolitan District Commission, the regional water and sewer agency that serves East Hartford, Windsor, and 11 other Hartford-area towns, has been unable for more than two months to generate routine bills for its more than 100,000 customers because of a computer system malfunction, according to an MDC official.

The problem, whose exact cause has yet to be determined and which first surfaced in October, initially was expected to be resolved by the middle of last month, according to the MDC’s legal counsel, Christopher Stone.

Stone, a former state representative from East Hartford, said outside computer experts hired by the MDC have been conducting a “sequential restoration” of its data. While the task is about “90 percent complete,” Stone added, it could take another two weeks before the system is fully operational.

Asked how much money the problem may have cost the MDC, Stone said he didn’t immediately know. But he added that the head of the agency has the discretionary authority to spend as much as $1 million on expenses without immediate ratification by its directors and “we’re well below that.”

Stone also said the agency is considering hiring a forensic computer consultant to investigate the exact cause of the “glitch.”

Stone suggested that while a computer virus or “worm” could be the culprit, damage caused to the system by a “hacker” had been ruled out.

“All indications are that it’s a system maintenance issue that needed to be addressed and not an outside external force that came in and hacked,” he said.

“We’ve had to repair and restore things, and it’s not like if you press a button; it takes some time,” he added. “And as we were going through the process, other things were discovered — not life-threatening or terribly critical things, but things that needed to be addressed.”

“At the end of the day, not only will the system be up and running as it was prior to November, but the likelihood of a similar thing happening would be remote,” he continued.

The computer problem forced MDC officials just before Christmas to personally write agency checks to pay overtime to employees, who had objected to a delay.

Some local real-estate deals also have been temporarily derailed, as parties have been unable to obtain copies of MDC water bills required at property closings.

Moreover, the MDC has received dozens of complaints about the matter, and is likely to get more when some customers receive higher-than-normal bills that will cover services provided over two quarters, rather than a single 3-month period.

Stone, however, said that if bigger bills “create a hardship” for customers, they should contact the MDC’s customer service personnel “and we’ll work with them.”

He also said the MDC won’t charge interest or impose any penalties on bills “with issues that may go beyond the three-month billing cycle.”

Stone suggested that property buyers and sellers who have a problem because they can’t readily obtain MDC bills should consider a “post-closing agreement,” in which the seller agrees to pay a bill once its available.

He also suggested that a “modest amount of money” be held in escrow to cover an expected cost based upon a billing history for a property.

Stone said the MDC regrets the inconvenience the computer problem has caused its employees and customers.

The MDC is a nonprofit corporation chartered by the General Assembly that provides water, sewer, and household hazardous waste collection services to its member municipalities.

They include Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor.

The commission also supplies treated water under special agreements to Glastonbury and portions of South Windsor, East Granby, and Farmington.