Franklin council signals support to move utility-bill due date to start of month, consider manager authority for exceptions

Franklin City Council members discussed adjusting the city utility billing due date and giving the city manager authority to grant short extensions in exceptional circumstances. The conversation grew from complaints by residents—particularly seniors—about receiving bills late in the month.

City Manager Ms. Hokusby told the council that the due date is set by city code and "it's been set since 1962 to be due on the twentieth of each month," and that the manager currently lacks authority under existing code to extend due dates. She said the utility billing process involves a third-party vendor; if the vendor receives billing data by the fifth of the month, mailings go out the same day.

Several council members expressed a preference for moving the due date to either the end of the month or the first day of the month so that payment timing aligns better with common paydays for seniors and other residents. The council reached a consensus favoring the first of the month and instructed staff and the city attorney to prepare an ordinance amendment that would change the statutory due date and include language granting the city manager authority to make temporary adjustments in limited circumstances. Council did not adopt an ordinance at this meeting; the item will return for a formal vote once the attorneys draft the change.

The council discussed implementation timing and was advised that changing the billing date will require at least a couple of billing cycles to take effect and that exact date language should be provided to the city attorney for drafting.