Hillsborough is changing the way its residents pay their water and sewer bills – upgrading to an online portal for the first time ever.

Mayor Tom Stevens said the change stemmed from the fact that the old system was slow and obsolete.

“This can have potentially a lot of opportunities and advantages,” he said. “Prior, we had some outdated software that was really not working for us and we needed to figure out some kind of solution.”

He said it took a long time to discover potential problems like leaks.

“We now read meters on a monthly basis and you get a monthly statement and pretty much, ‘Oh, oh. Gee, I must’ve had a leak that started two weeks ago or a month ago,’” Stevens said. “This system, one thing would allow people to essentially get it in almost real-time.”

The new system is working in cooperation with utility service provider FATHOM to give exact data each time the resident checks online. The system will also include the option to download a mobile app. Users will be able to see online bill payments and access billing, payment and usage history, account information and bill reprints.

Stevens said the positive upgrades the new platform includes also bring some challenges. Customers are being assigned new account numbers by the company, however, not all account numbers have been assigned yet.

He said the fact that they haven’t been assigned yet has made it difficult for customers to get an automatic draft established at their banks. Stevens said he had the same problem.

“For example, I have an automatic draft I had to re-file to get my automatic draft taken out of my bank. It just couldn’t transfer to the others,” he said. “And we’re having some glitches.”

However, Stevens said there are resources available for those who need help adjusting. He said there are town representatives and FATHOM employees who can help answer questions and trouble-shoot.

“Those are the steps that we’re trying to take to make this better,” he said. “And certainly apologize for the inconvenience to customers, but in the long run, we’re hoping that this will be a much better system for everybody once we get these kinks ironed out.”

Stevens said the town is hoping to iron out the kinks within the next few weeks. Until then, resources for help navigating the online portal can be found below:

  • Click here to get to the FATHOM U2You Customer portal.
  • Call 844-691-9177 to contact a FATHOM representative for assistance with the FATHOM Portal.
  • Call 919-732-2104 ext. 1001 for Hillsborough Finance Director Heidi Lamay for further assistance navigating the new system.