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Council presses for fix to late utility bills; manager says printer and process changes underway
Summary
Councilors pressed city administration about repeated late water bills and ACH timing; staff said bills were recently sent to the printer and that process and staffing changes are underway to resolve timing issues.
Council members and the city manager discussed repeated delays in the city’s utility‑billing cycle at the March 13 meeting, with officials seeking a prompt operational fix.
The city manager told council that utility bills "went to the printer on Monday" and staff were exploring alternative printers; the city is working on special assessment (SAD) bills and department budget meetings. Several council members said late bills and delays in ACH withdrawals have become a recurring problem.
Council member O'Dell called timely billing a core government function and urged a solution: "One of the basic functions of government is to be able to send out the bills on time," he said. Mayor Lesich and others noted that when the city delays a due date, the corresponding ACH file for automatic payments is also pushed later, which has caused residents' payments to be withdrawn days after the expected date.
The manager said staff had made personnel and process changes and would provide answers on timing; she offered to email council members with specifics. A resident at the meeting (Laura Lesage) also reported that every time the due date was extended the ACH timing shifted and confirmed that the March bills were sent to the printer earlier in the week.
Council instructed staff to report back with a plan to fix billing timing and ACH scheduling; no ordinance or policy change was proposed at the meeting.
