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Board declines to change lien payment plan and affirms late-payment policy after customer appeals
Summary
A customer on an existing payment plan asked the Authority to forgive remaining sewer-lien balances; the board agreed to continue the signed payment plan (interest previously stopped) citing precedent concerns, and separately the board maintained its 10% late-payment policy after a customer dispute over a one-day delayed mailed payment.
Two customer correspondence items were discussed at the July 21 meeting. Business Manager Shanna Dearing presented a letter from a customer on a five-year payment plan who asked for forgiveness of the remaining lien balance. The board reviewed the account history: interest had been stopped at the time the customer entered the plan and the customer has been making payments toward principal. Several board members expressed concern about setting a precedent and noted that a lien remains on the property. The board concluded to continue the signed payment agreement as written; staff will monitor the account toward its projected payoff in August 2027.
In a separate correspondence matter, Dearing presented a customer complaint about a 10% late charge after a mailed payment arrived one day after the due date. Board members discussed whether to use postmarks versus actual receipt dates, the administrative burden of checking postmarks and alternatives (online payments). The board noted it had granted a one-time adjustment to this customer previously but decided to maintain the current policy that assesses late charges for payments received after the due date. The manager will follow up with the customer to explain the decision and available payment options.
The discussions emphasized consistency of policy, administrative capacity for checking mail postmarks and the authority’s discretion to grant one-time adjustments when warranted.
