TOWNS OF CARY AND MORRISVILLE SET FOR MONDAY UTILITY MERGER

CARY, NC – Beginning Monday, April 3, 2006, the Town of Cary will officially begin providing quality water and sewer services to its neighbors – the Town of Morrisville–  following a mutual agreement that transfers operation, maintenance and expansion of Morrisville’s water and sewer systems to Cary.   A total of 4,600 Morrisville utility customers will start doing business directly with the Town of Cary ’s Finance and Public Works and Utilities departments on Monday.   The merger will have no effect on existing Cary customers.

"It has been determined through extensive studies that Morrisville residents will ultimately benefit from a merger of utility systems,” said Morrisville Town Manager John Whitson.   “We look forward to achieving lower water and sewer rates through our partnership with Cary and know that our residents will continue to receive excellent customer service from Cary 's Finance and Public Works departments.”

Prior to the merger, Morrisville purchased water from the Town of Cary , and Cary treated Morrisville’s wastewater.  In October 2005, Morrisville Town Council approved the plan to merge with Cary ’s utility system, and Cary ’s Town Council approved the merger the following month. 

“We are proud to begin offering our services to Morrisville,” said Town Manager Bill Coleman.  “The merger of our two utility systems is another testament to Cary’s ongoing commitment to regional approaches for providing important quality of life services in the most efficient, effective, and economical manner.”

Beginning Monday, Morrisville customers should contact the Town of Cary Finance department to change, disconnect or add service by calling (919) 469-4050, or they may visit Town Hall at 316 N. Academy St. in downtown Cary to modify services.  Also, customer service representatives will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays to address any questions or concerns from Morrisville residents and businesses related to the merger.

Morrisville customers will receive their first utility bill from Cary beginning April 17, and water and sewer usage rates and base charges will remain the same.  Beginning with the new fiscal year on July 1, an irrigation base charge of $5 will be added to Morrisville’s residential and commercial accounts with a residential sized meter; currently, Morrisville customers only pay water and sewer base charges. Also on July 1, all Morrisville commercial customers with larger meters will begin paying the new base commercial charges that the Cary Town Council approves as part of the 2007 fiscal year budget on water, sewer, and irrigation services.

Under the agreement, nine Town of Morrisville utility employees will begin working for the Town of Cary in engineering, finance, and public works and utilities positions on April 1.   In addition, both Towns will continue to collaborate to keep customers informed about important utility services issues through news releases, utility bill inserts, Town Web sites, Town newsletters, Cary TV 11, electronic mailing lists, magnets, and brochures.

For a list of frequently asked questions and additional information on the merger, visit Morrisville Merger at www.townofcary.org.  Customers may also call (919) 469-4050 for more information.

###