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Board updates delinquent utility account policy to clarify customer-facing language
Summary
The Board of Utilities approved a consolidated delinquent payment policy clarifying billing language and adding a process for "unusual billing circumstances." Staff said the changes are mainly editorial and not expected to change customers' day-to-day experience.
The Bowling Green Board of Utilities approved a consolidated delinquent-utility-account policy designed to modernize and simplify language governing billing, late-payment charges, and handling of atypical billing disputes.
Utilities Director Brian told the board staff combined two older policies into one to better reflect current metering, billing and payment operations (policies 2002 and 2003 were noted in materials). The draft retains existing practices while replacing unclear internal phrasing — for example, it substitutes the phrase 'due date printed on the bill' for the older, staff-facing term 'billing cycle' to clarify when late-payment charges apply.
Jackie from the business office said penalties recorded in the general ledger for 2025 were higher than in recent years, indicating more customers are paying late. Staff emphasized the change is intended to clarify and better communicate existing practice and that unusual or one-off billing disputes (for example, industrial-strength surcharge issues) would be resolved through a process led by the utilities business office manager, the utilities director and the city attorney.
A motion to approve Resolution 03202602 (approving the delinquent utility account policy) was adopted on roll call (Suzig — yes; Wagner — yes; New Love — yes).
The revised policy directs staff to publish operating procedures that explain day-to-day implementation to the public and to customers.
