Evans increases late and delinquency fees on water bills

EVANS — Residents who use late notices as a trigger to pay their water bills may be in for a surprise. Their late-notice fee will rise to $20 from the $5 they currently pay after the Evans City Council unanimously agreed to increase that and other fees associated with late and non-payment.

Public Works and Utilities Director Ty Bereskie reported to the council Tuesday night that on average 700 residents are late on their water bills every month.  In some cases, those whose water is shut off actually tamper with their meters and cause damage.  At present, he said, there were 719 late fees issued and 202 residents on the list to have their water shut off for nonpayment.

“This signaled to me that some residents are using the $5 (late) fee as a reminder that it’s time to pay their bill,” Bereskie told the council. “It takes a lot of staff time to provide the late notices. There is an administrative burden there. … When we have shutoffs, we’re sending trucks and a crew out to locate the meter and shutting it down, and $25 does not cover the costs.”

Bereskie said the city’s fees associated with late, delinquency and tampering were much lower than surrounding cities, and they take an enormous amount of staff time every month. He suggested the late fee should rise to $20; the delinquency fee to double to $50, and add a tampering fee of $200. Plus, any repair costs will be added for those who try to tamper with water meters and damage them.

“Hopefully by that being high, the goal is that we’ll see folks prioritize (paying their bill) and not use it as a notification system,” Bereskie said.

Bereskie said that in the fourth quarter of this year, the city would make $72,000 between today and the end of the year under the new fee structure based on current late fees and delinquencies.

“This is not an additional revenue stream,” Bereskie said. “It’s an attempt to reconcile the burden that is being” placed on staff, which could reduce customer service to residents who are paying their bills on time.

The city has an auto-pay function for paying water bills online, but that comes with fees as well, which one councilman wanted to see waived to encourage paying bills online. Waiving those fees, however, is not an option for the city, as they are imposed by the online bill-pay provider.

Late fees could end up costing much more for residents, especially when the city raises water rates in January. At a meeting held in August, the council heard a presentation of proposed water charges. The plan is to raise water rates 6% a year for the next four years. For the average homeowner, that would mean $1.40 a month extra for a base charge, and $1.38 more per 1,000 gallons used on the tier of 4,000 to 16,000 gallons a month. Water use over 16,000 gallons a month would see the biggest increase at $3.51 cents per 1,000 gallons used.

Water fees are based on usage per month, and the council opted to add a lower tier of up to 4,000 gallons of water a month, which will be charged at $5.89 per 1,000 gallons used per month, a 9-cent decrease from what residents are paying today.

Commercial water use is set to increase 77 cents to $8.03 per 1,000 gallons used come January, rising 6% a year through 2028.

The late and delinquency fees were originally going to be tied to water rate increases in January, but the city’s Water and Sewer Board wanted the fees to be imposed immediately, Bereskie told the council.