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Del City municipal services warns customers: new billing cycles start in February; arrange payments by Feb. 1
Summary
Del City's municipal services staff told the board that starting with February bills the city will align customer billing cycles; residents with outstanding balances must set up payment arrangements by Feb. 1 or service cutoffs will resume. Staff said postcards will replace envelopes to save costs and the change has been reviewed for legality.
Del City municipal services and public works staff briefed the Del City Council and public on Jan. 5 about an upcoming transition to new utility-billing cycles that begins with the February billing period.
Britney, speaking for municipal services, said the city will realign billing cycles so customers are billed within 15 days of meter read and invoices will be due within 30 days. She warned that the second bill residents receive after the transition will include any outstanding balance from the previous cycle, which can make amounts appear larger in the short term. To avoid service cutoffs, Britney said residents with outstanding balances should set up payment arrangements by Feb. 1.
Staff said the city has offered grace periods during recent holiday months but will reinstate cutoffs once the new cycle is in place. Britney also explained that the city is switching to postcard billing for routine notices; staff estimated a minimum savings of roughly $28,476 per year from that change. Concerns raised by councilmembers about whether postcards could violate privacy were addressed by staff and the city attorney, who said the information on the postcards is public record and the approach had been reviewed and is legal.
Council members and staff encouraged residents with questions to contact municipal services for account-specific explanations. The city said Zone 3 notices had been sent and Zone 4 notices would be mailed imminently; staff characterized the "zone" label as a billing-cycle grouping rather than a strict geographic ward designation.
Next steps: municipal services will continue outreach to affected customers, resume cutoffs in February for accounts not on payment arrangements, and provide additional account-level information on request.
