ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Board of Commissioners approved a partnership agreement with Utility Service Partners during its meeting Tuesday.
HomeServe, a Utility Service Partners company, provides optional water and sewer warranty repair plans to residents for a monthly fee. The agreement is a private contract between HomeServe and the homeowner, and Richmond County will not be involved in repairs or claims related to the plans.
Jerry Austin, Richmond County public works director, said the company would offer Richmond County residential water and sewer customers the opportunity — not an obligation — to purchase three maintenance plans: external water line repair, external sewer line repair and in-home plumbing repair.
“This home protection plan, just like the ones offered by Duke Energy on elliptical side, will help any water, sewer, utility customers to sign up, avoid any unintended, costly out-of-pocket expenses related to service line repairs, and or replacements,” Austin said.
Austin said the company partners with local contractors to perform the work.
“The extent of Richmond County’s involvement would be allowing utility service partners to utilize our county logo, and we will provide an active customer file for our water customers to educate the customers about the optional repair service plans.”
“The program marketing clearly states that Richmond County and utility services are separate entities, and any enrollment will be between the customer and utility service partners.”
Austin added that all marketing materials would require county approval before being mailed and that billing would be handled by Utility Service Partners at no cost to the county.
“Enrollment is completely— and I would like to reiterate, completely voluntary for our customers,” said Austin.
Utility Service Partners currently serves surrounding cities and counties, including Charlotte, Greensboro, Sharpsburg, Weaverville, Creswell, Snow Hill, Whiteville, Hendersonville, Sanford, Albemarle, Elizabeth City, Spring Lake, Tyrrell County Utilities, Mooresville, Shelby, Creedmoor, Mocksville, Eden, Fletcher, Hassell, Cherokee Water & Sewer, South Greene County Water Corporation, Greene County Regional Water, Cherryville, Monroe and Lincolnton.
Ashley Shiwarski, senior business director for HomeServe USA, also addressed commissioners and provided an overview of the program. She said the program has operated nationwide for more than 20 years and is available through partnerships with more than 1,300 municipalities.
HomeServe partners with the National Association of Water Companies, the International City/County Management Association and the National Rural Water Association.
“We all know aging infrastructure is an issue for counties and cities all across the country,” Shiwarski said. “And we know you all are doing your best to either upgrade or maintain your public infrastructure, but the homeowner’s portion of these water and sewer lines were kind of being forgotten about— not on purpose, we just know as the county, there’s really only so much that you can actually do on that private side.”
Shiwarski explained that the program provides optional protection plans for external water and sewer lines, septic and well lines and in-home plumbing. She said HomeServe handles marketing, billing, customer service and claims management at no cost to the county.
“What I will always think is the best benefit of this program is that it really does help to raise awareness,” Shiwarski said.
She added that residents often contact county staff first when issues arise with private utility lines, only to discover the repairs are not covered by the county or homeowner’s insurance.
“So that is really why I think of this program as a free public awareness campaign,” Shiwarski said.
Shiwarski said HomeServe uses local contractors for repairs and conducts background checks, drug screenings and insurance verification as part of its vetting process.
The company offers three separate optional plans: external water line protection, external sewer line protection and in-home plumbing protection. According to Shiwarski, external plans cover repairs from the point where the homeowner becomes responsible for the line to where it enters the home.
Residents enrolled in the external plans receive up to $12,000 per incident with no service fee or deductible. Coverage includes repairs involving sidewalks, streets and permitting costs when applicable.
The in-home plumbing plan covers broken or leaking water, sewer and drain lines inside the home, including slab or basement floor lines and clogged toilets. The plan provides up to $3,000 per repair incident with no deductible or annual claim limit.
Shiwarski said the county’s role in the program would primarily involve reviewing and approving direct mail campaigns before distribution. Mailings would be limited to no more than three per calendar year.
“The county does receive a revenue for their participation,” Shiwarski said. “So what you receive is 10% of all the premiums we collect on an annual basis, paid you in the form of a revenue.”
She said some municipalities use the revenue for utility assistance programs or other community services.
Commissioner Andy Grooms asked how HomeServe obtains contact information for marketing. Shiwarski said the county could provide customer information or the company could purchase public records through a third-party source.
“If you do want to provide it, all we need is name, property address, and billing address if it’s different,” Shiwarski said.
Commissioner Jason Gainey asked whether telemarketing would be involved. Shiwarski said residents would only receive calls if they voluntarily provided a phone number when enrolling.
Commissioner Justin Dawkins asked whether the program would cover municipalities throughout Richmond County or only county water customers. Austin responded that the program would apply only to Richmond County water customers.
Commissioner Jamie Gathings asked whether pre-existing conditions would be covered.
“We do have an eligibility question when you enroll— the last is ‘is your line working today?’ But that’s on the honor system. We do have a 30-day wait, so the coverage, they can’t file a claim until 30 days after signing up,” Shiwarski said.
Commissioner Dr. Rick Watkins asked about monthly costs for residents. Shiwarski said pricing is uniform countywide, with external water line protection costing $6.99 per month, external sewer line protection costing $8.49 per month and in-home plumbing protection costing $9.99 per month. Residents who enroll in both external water and sewer protection receive a 10% discount.
Shiwarski said customers would continue receiving service even if the county later terminated its agreement with HomeServe.
“We keep them on as long as they want to. We do have in our agreement the ability to increase pricing. It’s typically done at renewal if it’s done. It is guaranteed for one year,” Shiwarski said. “If our agreement does say if we need increase, it would be no more than a dollar for your residence in a year.”
She noted that rates have increased only slightly during her 12 years with the company and that residents can enroll or cancel service at any time because the contract is month-to-month. Shiwarski also said residents can opt out of receiving mailings and that customer information is not sold.
“I don’t see anything nefarious about what you just said or anything, but personally, I don’t feel comfortable giving up county info to third parties like that,” Grooms said.
Shiwarski responded that HomeServe typically uses a third-party company, InfoUSA, to access public records and usually does not submit public information requests directly to counties.
County Attorney S. Mujeeb Shan-Khan recommended the county provide limited information directly to HomeServe.
“…we have control of what information they get, versus if they go to a third party, we can’t control all the information they get… because that would allow the team to make sure we limit what is provided,” said Shan-Khan.
Shiwarski said addresses alone would be sufficient if the county chose not to provide names.
The attorney also shared his personal experience receiving mailings from HomeServe, noting they only included his name and address.
“I would encourage it to be approved, contingent on legal approval and that the county provides the information.”
Grooms made a motion to approve the partnership contingent upon legal approval of the agreement and with the county only providing addresses for mailing purposes. The board unanimously approved the motion.
In other business, commissioners approved several proclamations recognizing Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15 and National Police Week from May 10-16, Memorial Day veterans recognition, Older Americans Month, World MS Day and ALS Awareness Month.