Belleville residents to pay higher fee if late more than a month on sewer bills
Belleville City Council granted Treasurer Sarah Biermann’s request to change the formula for calculating late fees on sewer bills Monday night.
Residents more than a month late will pay a 10% fee on their entire past-due balances. They formerly paid 10% on their last month’s balances and 1% on balances from previous months.
“It’s not a money grab,” Biermann said of the change. “I’m looking for more consistency and less confusion.”
The old formula was confusing for residents to understand and complicated for the city to apply, particularly when balances for some months were adjusted due to water leaks, according to Biermann.
Residents who pay their bills on time won’t be affected by the change. Those only a month late will continue to pay a 10% fee.
Biermann encourages residents to sign up for the “direct debit” method of paying sewer bills, allowing automatic withdrawals from bank accounts, to keep from being late. People often call her office complaining that their bills or payments got lost in the mail.
“The post office just isn’t as reliable as it used to be,” Biermann said.
Another option is arranging for the city to send monthly email reminders telling residents that sewer bills are due. More information on both services can be found on the city’s website.
The city handles about 18,000 sewer accounts. The number of residents who are late on bills varies each month.
This story was originally published April 2, 2024 at 6:41 AM.
