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Benton Harbor commission temporarily waives water late fees pending staff review of billing disruptions
Summary
After extended debate about missing bills and sudden high balances, the commission authorized staff to identify accounts affected by billing disruptions and apply a temporary waiver of assessed late fees; staff will calculate impacted accounts and return with a proposed credit plan.
The Benton Harbor City Commission voted to temporarily waive current water utility late fees for accounts affected by identified billing disruptions and directed staff to determine which accounts were harmed and calculate the proper credits.
The measure followed prolonged public comment from residents who said they had not received bills for months and from commissioners who said they’d received repeated complaints dating back to February. Mayor Pro Tim Turner and other commissioners said staff was slow to respond to resident complaints and asked for a clear timeline. City Manager Alex Little told the commission the city and vendor had investigated mail problems and that returned envelopes indicate some mailings were not delivered consistently; he said the issue did not appear to be the city’s internal process but involved postal and vendor handling.
The resolution instructs the city manager, the water payment administrator and the finance director to identify the period of disruption, quantify late fees assessed during that period, and apply waivers only to those affected accounts; the resolution does not forgive underlying principal balances.
Commissioners debated whether the period of disruption spanned two months or as many as five months for a limited number of accounts; several urged staff to produce specific calculations and return to the commission (personnel/finance/public works committee) with figures at a July 8 meeting so the commission can approve a specific credit plan.
The commission carried the resolution by roll call. Commissioners emphasized that while the city must maintain utility collections to operate the water plant, the council also must avoid adding harm for customers who lacked a fair opportunity to pay because they did not receive bills in a timely way.
