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WATER & SEWER BILLING
On August 31, 2000 the Village Board approved several changes
related to the water and sewer billing process. Several of the
changes are enhancements that are beneficial to all customers.
These changes are:
- The elimination of the water deposit. A water deposit is
no longer required and, if you have a deposit with the
Village, a credit in the amount of that deposit will be
applied on your November 1st water bill.
- The water application has been eliminated. New or
transferred accounts will be set up based on the information
included on the real estate transfer tax application,
thereby eliminating the need for the customer to actually
come in to the Village Hall to set up their water service
and resulting in their account being set up immediately.
- The water and sewer bill will be redesigned to be more
informative. The back of the water bill will include a
time-line that explains the water billing cycle. This change
should be implemented in the next 2-3 months.
Also, the Village Board approved several changes that were
designed to tighten the restrictions for those customers whose
account becomes delinquent. These changes are designed to
minimize and recover the administrative costs associated with
delinquent customers, which ultimately will benefit all of our
customers. These changes are:
- Customers who have a question pertaining to the accuracy
of their bill or who may be experiencing a hardship which
might affect their ability to make payment on time, are
asked to contact us within 35 days from the date the bill
was issued in order to (1) have staff research your billing
question and/or (2) make arrangements for payment. If the we
are contacted after the 35th day, the account will be in the
shut-off process and regardless of the situation, payment
will be required in order for water to remain on. Again, if
a customer has any questions or problems with making
payment, we are requesting that you contact us in the first
35 days so as to avoid being in the shut-off process.
- There will no longer be a separate mailing of
a second reminder notice; the reminder will be incorporated
into the next water bill.
- The use of door hanger shut-off notices will be
discontinued. If your account becomes delinquent, you will
receive 3 notifications by mail (original water bill, second
water bill (late notice) and a shut-off notice) prior to
having the water turned off.
- An administrative fee of $15.00 will be assessed when a
shut-off notice is generated. This fee will offset the cost
of sending the notice.
- The shut-off list will be considered final at 5:00 pm
on the day immediately preceding the scheduled shut-off day.
If payment is not received by this time, the account will be
shut off and a turn-on fee of $50.00, along with payment of
the total amount due, will be required before the water will
be turned back on.
- Customers whose water is shut off and who do not make
payment until after 3:30 pm will not have their water
turned back on until the following day. The customer will
have the option of having their water turned on after 3:30
pm for an additional fee of $50.00.
- Customers who make payment by check in connection with
shut-off and it is returned by the bank (NSF or other) will
be shut off immediately and without further notification.
Again, these changes are designed so the paying customer is
not burdened with the costs of collecting delinquent accounts.
We appreciate customers who pay their water/sewer bills by the
20th of the month.
Customers will be given the opportunity to have a penalty or
the administrative fee waived one time only if they agree to
sign up for the "Stream"- Line payment plan. The customer will
need to remain in "Stream"- Line for a minimum of one year or
the waived fee would be reassessed.
The Village Board also decided to eliminate the minimum water
bill, as well as the reduced rate for usage over 50,000 gallons
per month. This means all customers pay the same rate for the
gallons of water used and only pay for what is used. This change
will be effective with October usage, billed in November.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the
Finance Department at 871-6222.
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