The town of Irondequoit got a refund from Rochester Gas and Electric after an audit was conducted on the city’s utility bill.

Irondequoit spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on street lights every year, and an extensive audit that reviewed six years' worth of bills to Rochester Gas and Electric, discovered nearly $182,000 in billing errors and overcharges.

"[The charges are] considerable. That’s $30,000 a year," said town supervisor Dave Seeley. "As pursuant to state law, that money has to be refunded by the utility, and we were happy to receive a prompt payment from RG&E in the form of a rebate check.”

Additionally, the audit found nearly $1,700 in savings that will result from the errors identified.

“I don’t think it’s anything malicious with the utility. Every street light does not have a meter like we do at home, so often it’s an estimate of how many kilowatt hours are being used on each piece of equipment," Seeley said. "However, in some cases, RG&E was factoring in utility poles that didn’t even exist.”

The money will go to the town’s capital fund; which will be used for parks, playgrounds, or other town assets residents appreciate.

“If the community is putting it back in the community, that’s fine. The money is already spent. You’ve already paid them for it," Resident Steve LaDue said. "In this case, you’re getting more than $180,000 put back in the community that would not have previously been spent.”

Another resident is glad these audits are being done in the first place.

“If the town actually did the audit, I applaud them. They’re looking after us, so it doesn’t come out of our taxes," Resident Margarita Nuemann said. "And RG&E paid it back, that’s good too.”

Seeley says audits are a part of fiscal responsibility.

“And we’re audited, our books are audited. Anything the government does should be audited," Seeley said. "Again, it’s the people’s money that funds government. That’s why we have audits.”

Spectrum News reached out to RG&E for comment, but did not immediately hear back.