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City’s customer service office outlines utility-bill layout, leak risks and assistance resources
Summary
Interim customer service director Allison Haines showed council how to read a Dover utility bill, highlighted common causes of unusually high bills (including toilet leaks) and summarized local assistance programs and state resources such as Energize Delaware and 2-1-1.
The City of Dover’s interim customer service director presented a utility-bill education briefing to council, walking through bill sections, common causes of high usage and available assistance for residents.
Allison Haines described standard bill components (customer name/account, previous balance/current charges, reads and usage, payment options, consumption graphs and charge calculations). She emphasized checking the payment coupon’s delivery address to ensure online bill-pay goes to the utility account rather than a tax PO box.
Haines showed examples of how leaks can drive unexpectedly high water bills. She pointed to a sample case where a water-only bill rose from $66.90 to $404.98 after a leak and walked through a toilet-dye test residents can use to detect running toilets. She said water adjustments are discretionary, granted as a one-time courtesy and contingent on repairs being completed.
On conservation and bill reduction, Haines recommended common measures (turn off lights, unplug idle devices, full laundry loads, use power strips, thermostat adjustments), and cautioned about winter pipe damage, detached hoses and unattended properties with heat off. For assistance, Haines referenced city and regional resources: the city’s online pamphlet, Energize Delaware for weatherization/home audits, Catholic Charities, legal-aid links and 2-1-1 as a starting point for finding financial assistance.
Councilmembers praised the materials and requested copies of the brochures; Councilman Neal noted the value of distributing the pamphlets to council members for constituent referrals. The presentation was informational and no council action was taken.
