Mountain View council directs staff to switch to retroactive quarterly utility billing

At a July 13 special meeting, the Town of Mountain View council provided verbal direction to town staff to move from proactive — charging residents three months in advance — to retroactive quarterly utility billing, which bills residents after the service quarter ends.

"So we're having residents pay ahead for services that have not been rendered," Town Administrator Charity Campfield said, describing the current practice. She told council staff recommends retroactive billing so the January–March bill would be issued at the end of March and paid in April, allowing sewer-base adjustments tied to average winter water use to be applied to that bill.

Campfield said the town’s ordinance requires four quarterly bills per year but does not prescribe billing timing; she characterized the change as an administrative shift that would not immediately change bill amounts. "There's nothing in the ordinance," she said, adding that utility rates are set by resolution in the town’s fee schedule and this adjustment is primarily a process and communications change.

Council members supported the change but stressed the importance of clear communication to residents about new bill dates and the transition timeline. Members also said the change would reduce staff time handling move-in/move-out credits and make sewer adjustments easier to calculate.

Council gave verbal staff direction to implement retroactive billing and asked staff to produce an internal standard operating procedure and customer notices explaining the shift. No formal resolution was requested or required during the meeting.