Rowlett — During citizen input on July 15, Steven Pruitt Jr., a Rowlett homeowner, told the council he received a delinquent notice for two unpaid utility bills despite having set up autopay.
Pruitt said he closed on his home in March and has set bills to be paid automatically on the first of each month. "I was very upset when I received a delinquent notice for my Rowlett utility bill that had already been set up for autopay," Pruitt told the council. He said the city’s customer-service staff were helpful but could not explain why two consecutive months failed to process, forcing him to make an immediate double payment to avoid service interruption.
Pruitt told the council he learned customer service receives frequent calls about similar autopay failures and urged the city to implement clearer system messaging or a confirmation “splash page” that warns customers autopay may not post on the selected date, or to ensure payments post on the chosen date for customers with fixed finances.
The mayor noted the complaint in public comment and invited staff to follow up; council did not take immediate action during the meeting because Citizen’s Input is a non‑action period. Pruitt asked the council for improvement to the billing system to prevent similar surprises for residents.