The Plymouth Common Council approved Ordinance No. 2023-2220 An Ordinance to Amend The City Code Regarding Utility Payments on second and third reading.
Without the amendment, the current ordinance did not give a time deadline to add penalties for late payments.
All rates and charges billed for open accounts are due on the 4th day of any given month; when the 4th falls on a weekend, holiday or other day where the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office is closed for business, the due date is extended to 11 a.m. local time on the next business day that the office is open. Bills not paid by the due date are declared delinquent and a penalty of 10% of the amount of the rates and charges outstanding are charged and become part of the bill.
Late payments will be due no later than 9 a.m. local time on the 15th of every month. If the 15th falls on a day when the office is closed, the time the delinquent bill is due is extended until 9 a.m. local time on the next business day in which the City-Clerk Treasurer’s office is open.
Any other procedure interferes with providing a 10 day time frame to get late bills paid before utilities are shut off. Adding another day to the deadline interferes with the billing cycle itself.
After discussion, it was determined that the City of Plymouth allows for ample opportunities to pay a utility bill on time including drop box and online payment options 24/7.
