|
Billing & Collection
|T o p|
The
Water Department is open from Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. Residents can contact the water department at 248-691-7470 for
further information.
PAYMENT OF WATER
BILLS
Payment of water bills can be
made at the water department located at 13700 Oak Park Blvd., between 8:00
a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on holidays. Payments can
also be made at the Treasurer’s Office in City Hall. To facilitate after
hours payments, a drop box is available by the front door of the water
department. A second drop box is located by the curb, in front of the
public safety building. Residents may also elect to pay their water bills
automatically through their banks. A bank draft authorization form must be
completed, and sent in to the water department along with a voided deposit
slip. The
Bank Draft
Authorization Form can be
downloaded through the City's
Business Forms
section on this web site.
PAYMENT PLANS
Residents
may enter into payment plans with the water department. Section 82-315 of
the utilities city ordinance states that one-fourth of the past due shall be
paid at the time of filing of the payment plan, and the remainder to be paid
in monthly installments. New payment plans cannot be offered unless
existing plans are fulfilled. Residents are encouraged to come into the
water department to discuss their water bills, and make the necessary
arrangements for payment plans.
BILLING PERIODS
In
general, residential water accounts are billed quarterly, while commercial
accounts are billed monthly. A penalty of 10% on the outstanding balance is
added to accounts for bills paid after the due date. The water department
can waive one penalty per year for each account in accordance with Utilities
Ordinance, Section 82-315. If the complete balance on a regular water bill
is unpaid, a reminder water notice is mailed. If the balance is still
unpaid, a blue disconnection notice is then affixed to the front door of the
property informing the resident of the scheduled disconnection date. As per
Utilities Ordinance Section 82-315 (b) (3), a $10 fee is assessed to the
account for receiving the disconnection notice.
DISCONNECTION/RECONNECTION OF WATER SERVICE
If the water service to a property is
disconnected, there will be a $60 disconnect/reconnect fee charged to the
account. Once disconnected, all balances due are to be paid in cash or
money order only. No checks will be accepted. Any requests for service
reconnections after 3:30 pm will result in an overtime charge. Furthermore,
all requests for service reconnections after normal D.P.W. working hours are
subject to the availability of D.P.W. personnel (Utilities Ordinance,
Section 82-315 (e)).
The city also provides winterization service for residents.
Customers will have to sign a form indicating their desire to have their
water temporarily disconnected. For further information, residents may
contact the water department at 691-7470.
RECOURSE FOR A HIGH WATER BILL
If a water bill is
disputed, a resident may request any or all of the following:
-
Request
that their meter be tested. If the test determines that the water meter
is over registering, the Water Department will replace the meter and
adjust the water bill - at no cost to the customer. However, if the test
results show that the meter is under registering or registering
accurately within the American Water Works Association standards, then
the customer is charged $60 for the meter test and the bill cannot be
adjusted.
REQUESTING FINAL WATER BILLS
When
purchasing, selling or renting a property, residents need to request a final
water bill to ensure that the right party is paying for the water service up
to the agreed upon date. Final bills are billed and mailed once a week - on
Fridays. Customers may also come in and pick up the final bill once it has
been processed.
|
