Council reviews first reading to update city code on utility billing after state law changes

On July 9 the Winchester City Council received a first reading of O2024-12, an ordinance to amend City Code sections governing utility billing to comply with recent changes to state law. Public Services Director Perry Eisenach explained mandatory changes: utilities may not disconnect water for nonpayment until at least 60 days after a bill is first due (effectively pushing disconnection to day 90 under the city’s proposed schedule), notices must be sent in English and Spanish, disconnections may not occur on Fridays, weekends, state holidays or days before state holidays, and disconnections are prohibited when the temperature is 92 °F or higher.

Eisenach described optional measures council could adopt at this time: converting residential accounts from a bimonthly to monthly billing cycle (with a proposed January 1 start), reducing the minimum monthly charge to keep annual bills neutral for customers, and increasing the reconnection fee from $40 to $50 to better reflect administrative costs. Staff estimated the administrative cost of monthly billing at about $36,000 annually (postage and printing) and said the change is not expected to increase overall annual payments by customers because the minimum charge would be adjusted.

Councilors questioned budget impacts, whether the change would improve leak detection or water conservation, landlord/tenant implications for accounts billed to owners, and public outreach before implementation. Some councilors supported the consumer-protection aspects of the mandatory changes but were split on approving the optional monthly-billing conversion immediately because of its budget impact. Staff offered to gather public feedback before the ordinance returns for additional readings.

Next steps: O2024-12 was presented for first reading; no final vote was taken. Staff will gather public input and return the ordinance for further consideration.