Residents tell North Augusta council online water-payment portal is failing; mayor vows follow-up

Several North Augusta residents told the City Council on March 2 that the city’s online water-payment portal repeatedly produced error messages and had left some households without water until they paid multiple $60 reconnect fees.

“I keep getting this error message, and it's a Clover,” said Michelle Prince of 304 Fairview Street, describing a widely shared error on neighborhood Facebook pages. Prince said her water was cut off twice and that she had incurred roughly $125 in additional fees while trying to restore service.

Mayor Bridal S. Williams acknowledged the problem and said the city migrated its utility billing to GovSense and that Clover, a third-party payment vendor, has been the source of recent failures. “The problem that has happened is with Clover, which is a third party,” Williams said. She told the residents the contract will be reviewed when it expires and offered to follow up directly on individual accounts.

City staff and councilors said the new billing software will allow for more flexible payment options, including the ability to pay multiple outstanding bills at once and to set up drafting from checking accounts. Williams also recommended using the city’s drop box and asked residents to provide contact information so staff could investigate specific billing discrepancies.

The exchange highlighted several resident concerns beyond technical errors: inconsistent bills for apparently identical water usage, customer-service interactions at city offices, and the financial burden of repeated reconnection fees on residents who work daytime hours. Council members pledged staff follow-up and said the city would review the vendor relationship and individual account records.