Payment for utility bills sent by the City of Salem must be paid or arrangements made for payment by July 22 to avoid penalties and by 5 p.m. Aug. 5 to avoid disconnect of services, according to a press release sent Friday by Salem City Administrator Ray Walden.
Penalties and disconnects for non-payment go back into effect July 15. The deadlines appear on the most recent bill, according to Walden. Bills also indicate they serve as the first and final notice, he said.
A total of $945,000 is outstanding as of Thursday, according to Walden, and that does not include current service for May 15-June 15 due this month. Those bills were sent out in early July.
“The utility office will use a combination of channels to inform customers with balances of the upcoming dates and options to avoid penalties and disconnects,” according to the release.
On Aug. 6, the city will start performing disconnects for non-payment and the number of accounts to be disconnected will not be known until that time. Electric service can be disconnected remotely in the utility office with water disconnects requiring a service person to go onsite to perform the disconnect, the release stated.
The Salem News on Wednesday sent a request for information on utility cutoffs and the current aging report for past-due accounts to Walden, asking that he supply the information by 5 p.m. Friday so the newspaper could inform the public through its newspaper, website and social media.
Amounts owed for previous aging periods include:
• 671 accounts that owe $434,797 that were sent for bills covering Feb. 8-May 15. That is an average of $647.98 per account. (To get a 5% rebate, these customers had until June 20 to pay the bill.)
• 316 accounts owe a balance on the Jan.9-Feb. 8 consumption bill totaling $92,425, an average of $292.48 per account.
• 252 accounts owe a balance on the Dec. 10, 2020-Jan. 9 consumption bill totaling $64,137, an average of $254.51 per account.
• 206 accounts owe a balance from prior to the Dec. 10, 2020 consumption bills totaling $291,231, an average of $1,413.75 per account.
• 41 accounts have last payment dates prior to July 1, 2020, with current year balances totaling $29,931 and total balances due of $112,187.
Walden’s press release went on to say utility bills for consumption from May 15-June 15 included a once-a-year charge of the state’s water primacy and sewer fees. Information about the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ fees is available at: https://dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/primacyfee.htm.
The bills also reflect a 5% rebate adjustment for accounts paying the Feb. 8-May 15 consumption bill by the due date.
Anyone who hasn’t received their bill or who has questions about their account is asked to contact the utility office at (573) 729-4117.
