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Council debates 10% sanitation late fee; board grants single waiver
Summary
A resident challenged the city’s 10% monthly late fee on sanitation bills. City staff said the charge is set by ordinance and is the state-allowed maximum. The board voted to waive one late fee for the resident but said ordinance change would require council action.
A Greenwood resident asked the Board of Public Works to explain and consider waiving a 10% late fee assessed on sanitation bills. The resident said the fee felt punitive and asked how the charge is calculated.
“It's 10% in my bill. I only use about 300 gallons a month… My bill is $54 a month, so it'd be $5.40,” the resident said.
The city’s controller explained the fee is set in ordinance and represents the maximum allowed by state law. The controller also said the city does not compound late fees; partial payments are applied first to late-fee surcharges, then to service charges, to preserve lienability for certain surcharges.
A board member offered to waive the single contested fee in this case but noted the board could not change the ordinance and warned that future waivers would be limited. After discussion and a motion, the board voted to grant a one-time waiver for the fee on the resident’s account.
City staff said changing the 10% rate would require an ordinance change by the council. The controller estimated the late fee in this instance was about $7 after partial payments and allocations; that amount will be cleared by applying the approved waiver.
The board did not adopt a policy change; staff reiterated that the city may consider waivers on a case-by-case basis but any rate adjustment would require council action.
