Bremen residents could see an increase in utility disconnect and reconnect fees.
Electric Department Superintendent Jay Stoneburner told the Bremen Town Council members Tuesday night that the town is experiencing a high volume of reconnect requests and often times they are after business hours. He would like to see an increase in the disconnect and reconnect fees from $50 to $75. He would also like the town council to consider eliminating after hour reconnect services.
Stoneburner said in conversations with Councilman Rick Graverson and Clerk-Treasurer Janet Anglemyer the late penalty should also be increased to 10 percent or all total utility bills.
Stoneburner said there are “a lot” of disconnect notices this month. Anglemyer confirmed that 40 notices were sent out. The bill is sent out on the first of the month and it’s due on the 15th day. If it is not paid by then, a disconnect notice is sent on the 20th stating that the customer has until the second Thursday of the next month to pay it or the utility will be disconnected. Stoneburner stressed that a limiter is placed on meters in the wintertime so families won’t be without the ability to heat homes.
The discussion included adding landlords to a notification system to alert them when tenants are delinquent in paying utility bills. Anglemyer noted that her office sends out about 400 notices a month to customers who haven’t paid their bill by the 20th of the month and that process could be too much to handle without an automated system. The council members also talked about putting the landlord’s name on the utility bills so someone is responsible for paying the bill.
About $7,000 was written off at the end of last year because customers reportedly skipped out on paying their final bills.
The Bremen Town Council members will consider the changes in an ordinance that could be presented at the next meeting on Monday, Nov. 26. The entire conversation can be heard during this Sunday’s Maximum Impact program at noon on MAX 98.3 FM.
