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Caribou utilities staff weigh switching billing frequency as board reviews billing disclosures and CCR
Summary
Trustees discussed a bill‑backer disclosure added to monthly bills to satisfy the PUC, the in‑house consumer confidence report, and whether to move from monthly to bimonthly billing to cut mailing costs; staff said switching would require terms changes and could affect arrears and disconnects.
Trustees on the Caribou Utilities Board spent significant time discussing customer billing practices, the addition of a PUC‑required bill backer disclosure, and whether to shift from monthly to bimonthly billing to reduce mailing costs.
Staff reported that a bill backer — an informational insert showing required Drinking Water Program/PUC information and dispute resolution steps — has been added to bills and will appear every billing cycle. The board was also told the 2024 consumer confidence report (CCR) was prepared in‑house this year and that a link was included on the bill backer; hard copies can be mailed on request.
Trustees discussed changing the billing frequency to every two months or quarterly. Staff noted account terms currently allow quarterly billing but not explicitly bimonthly billing, and that a terms update might be needed to change to a two‑month cycle. Staff said the current mailing cost is about $2,000 per month for both departments combined, and that moving to a bimonthly schedule would halve the number of mailings and could save roughly $12,000 annually in postage and vendor fees.
Board members raised concerns about customer payment patterns. Staff reported typical monthly activity includes about 10 to 12 disconnects or attempted disconnects and that roughly 1–2% of accounts are past due at month‑end. Trustees noted that less frequent bills could disrupt customers’ payment rhythms and potentially increase delinquencies; staff offered to check end‑of‑month past‑due counts with billing staff (Chi and Tamara) before any policy change. One trustee suggested maintaining larger cash reserves as an alternative to changing billing frequency to smooth cash flow.
On contractual services accounting, staff said the audit work would likely result in an invoice showing audit fees and that those charges should appear in next month’s billings. Staff also explained that some budget line variances reflect late insurance rebate checks and year‑end workers’ compensation adjustments; one incoming rebate was described as “almost $9,000.”
The board approved the budget and financial reports by voice vote after discussion; staff described the most recent audit as clean.
