[JAN. 11, 2006]
City officials addressed a hot-button issue that a
local couple brought to their attention at their
committee-as-a-whole workshop on Tuesday evening.
A resident wished to
address the council on a city policy that penalizes citizens. Karen
Miller, who lives on Lincoln's Park Place, was there with her
husband, Barry, to contest the late fee they received on their sewer
bill. "It's not a matter of money. It's a matter of principle,"
Miller said.
She added that she works as an accountant in her work and is very
organized in paying their bills at home, "I always pay our bills on
time." This could happen to anybody, she said.
"I never received an original bill," Miller said. She said that
when she received the late notice she called the city clerk's office
and both of the ladies she spoke with said that it doesn't matter;
she'd still need to pay the late fee. They also told her that they
assume that if a bill doesn't come back after they are sent out,
that everyone received their bill.
Miller said that she had already paid the bill and the late fee
but wanted the late fee dismissed.
She said, "We are just simply asking that the city review their
policy and procedures on sending out those bills and the assumption
that everyone was getting one."
Mayor Beth Davis, the city clerk and the city attorney all
explained the billing and mailing process and reasons for the
policy.
The city sends out sewer bills due on the first of the month
every four months. The past-service bill is due on the 20th every
fourth month. If payment is not received, the city sends out a
reminder card with a late penalty added, due by the 15th of the
following month. If the bill is paid after the extended due date,
then there is a $25 fee added as well.
Residential sewer fees
The bill amount is the same each time, $16.43 per month, per unit
for four months of service, a total of $65.72 per four-month billing
cycle.
$65.72 -- due on
the 20th every four months*
$6.50 -- 10
percent late fee if not paid by the 15th of the following month
$25 fee -- added
if not paid after the 15th of the month after the original bill
$97.29 -- total
due after the 15th of the month after the original bill was due
The combined late fees constitute an addition of 33 percent in
late charges being added to the bill.
*The city is divided up and not all properties are on the same
billing cycle, but each property keeps the same four-month billing
cycle year after year.
Miller said, "It is harsh to tack 10 percent on anything."
Buzz Busby said, "Mrs. Miller, I'm not calling you a liar. We
have a lot of people come up here and say, 'Well, I didn't receive a
bill.'" The bill comes due every four months, he said. "If we open
that can of worms for you, how many other people would come up here
and say the same thing?"
Miller responded that she understood, but "We try to be good
citizens."
She said, "We've been here six years and already had two to three
roundabouts with the city, and that's pretty sad."
Busby said the city clerk, Melanie Riggs, checked the Millers'
records, and they have paid their bills every time on time. "I
applaud you for that; a lot of people don't," he said.
Barry Miller asked why they would charge a 10 percent surcharge
on 14-day-late bill. "That's a pretty high rate of interest," he
said. "It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that's pretty
darn good gouging. I don't know if that's all that legal."
"I guarantee it is," city attorney Bill Bates said.
"But, is it ethical?" Mr. Miller asked.
It's been in place since 1980, Bates said. That's why we have
city council, he added.
Aldermen Marty Neitzel and Wanda Lee Rohlfs empathized with
Miller, but agreed that the city needs to stick to policy or it
opens the door to everyone to do the same. Neitzel said she has had
the same happen to her and she just paid the late fee. Rohlfs said
she sends out a lot of mail and often hears later that it didn't
arrive.
Alderman Daron Whitaker said he understood also from personal
experience. He's had several bills a couple of months late that he
has had to pay because of homeowners buying on contract from him and
had not paid the bills.
"It is an ordinance. I pay them. I never ask for anything in
return," he said.
He agreed with Busby that it's like paying for your lights, it's
like paying for your water; you know it's coming.
Mrs. Miller said, "I'm an accountant for the attorney general's
office. They have advised me that I can file a complaint with the
consumer division against the city of Lincoln."
