Water board won’t change policies

After a review of policies and pay options, Creston Waterworks Board Tuesday consented not to make changes to rules regarding delinquent accounts. No formal action was taken.

General Manager Steve Guthrie said the delinquent policy is intended to be used for those who have a catastrophic event, like a broken water pipe that floods a house and creates an significantly costlier bill. Just 18 months after the policy was created, Guthrie said there have been five instances where account holders have utilized the plan.

Guthrie said those account holders must meet certain economic criteria to be offered a 12-month or 24-month payment plan for the additional expense.

“We have had five payment plans; two are in progress and three have been paid off,” Guthrie said.

The criteria includes if the account holder on unemployment, using SNAP, on Social Security, Medicaid or in the low-to-moderate income bracket determined annually by the state.

“As for the plan, it has been successful for what we have used it for,” Guthrie said.

Customers are shown the difference between a 12-month and the 24-month payment plan. Customers must continue to pay their regular, monthly bill plus the payment plan amount. Guthrie said if there is a delay in paying the payment plan, they are given seven days to resume. If there is no payment, the water is shut off.

Guthrie said it is common to have one shut-off a week, but last week there were nine, the most in the previous two months.

Board members asked if the water bill could be on a budget billing system like other utilities offer. Budget billing is when a customer pays virtually the same amount each month and pays the difference at the end of the budget billing calendar.

Guthrie said the accounting system is not designed to have budget billing and would costs tens of thousands to add the feature. Guthrie said there would also be a concern for the city’s portion of sewer payments which is distributed to the city by waterworks.

“I’m not sure how important it is for the city to have all the sewer money paid in full,” he said.

Council member Richard Madison, who was in attendance, said the budget billing concept is worth discussing among city council.

“The system we have is working. I don’t think we have enough disconnects. I am not sure we would justify what we are trying to accomplish,” Guthrie said.

Waterworks member Melissa Driskell said delinquent accounts are a popular reason why she is contacted by others; mainly from past experiences.

“I offer them to meet with the board to explain,” she said about those who have a financial challenge.

Beginning next week, Creston Waterworks will accept payments using credit cards plus related fees. Customers can also pay via a credit card over the telephone. With an online account, customers can pay via a smartphone.

“We are giving them as many options as possible,” Guthrie said. “There are things we can do, we just have a process to follow.”

Water board member Mark Eblen said there are not enough customers to pursue a budget billing plan.

“The bill isn’t a huge fluctuation,” he said about water over a period of time, like other utilities.

Driskell said there may be account holders who do not meet the economic criteria but are not able to pay their water bill.

The board did approve a deceased account holder policy. Attempts will be made to legally contact the spouse, if they were married, to change the account name. Guthrie said there is potential for someone to use the name of the deceased and not be accountable for bills and fees at the same property.

In the past, there was an account holder who died and a child of the deceased moved in the house. The child eventually did not pay the bills and then left the property. The property was still in the name of the deceased.

“We are trying to prevent that loophole,” Guthrie said.

In a shared-living arrangement, if one leaves, the person remaining in the house is to have the account in their name and pay all related fees.