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Augusta utility office to stop returning pennies; small change will be applied as credit
Summary
City finance staff said the bank has stopped supplying pennies; once the city runs out, customers paying cash should pay exact change or the utility office will credit penny differences to the customer's next bill.
City finance staff informed the council on Nov. 3 that the city's bank is no longer receiving pennies from the Federal Reserve and the city is quickly depleting its stock.
Erica, speaking after city clerk/finance director Bridal Jones was introduced, said that once the city runs out of pennies — the utility cashier currently has about 50 cents in change — staff will ask customers paying with cash to tender exact change when possible. "But if they don't and we owe them pennies back instead of having pennies to give them, we will apply those pennies as a credit to their next bill," Erica said, describing the city’s plan to apply small change as credits rather than attempt complicated software or rounding changes at this time.
Staff said notices will be posted at the utility office counter and window to alert customers when pennies are no longer available. The city indicated the change is administrative and designed to avoid shorting customers; staff described the approach as aligned with actions other local businesses have taken.
Council thanked staff for the heads up and no action was required at the meeting.
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