The revenue generated by monthly bills is directly invested back into keeping the water and sewer system operating. When customers regularly fail to make their monthly payments, the sustainability of the water system is compromised, therefore, in order to maximize the rate of bill pay, it is important that:
Having a consequence for failure to pay monthly bills is important for two main reasons. First, the desire to avoid the consequence serves as a motivator for community members to stay current on their bills. Second, it is influential on customer satisfaction as customers who do pay may feel frustrated and taken advantage of if other community members who don’t pay continue to receive the same service for free.
When a customer who is capable of paying fails to pay their bill, one consequence that many communities have found effective is to shut off that customer’s water or sewer service. Enforcing shut-offs can be challenging as emotions surrounding this consequence understandably run high. In small communities, this task often falls on the water treatment plant operators who have often found themselves facing the discomfort of being required to shut-off service to their friends and relatives. In order to implement a shut-off policy that is effective and as easy as possible to enforce, consider the following key points:
Needless to say, all efforts should be made to assist customers who fail to pay due to a genuine inability to do so. Click here for more information on Affordability and Customer Assistance programs.
Here are some examples of shut-off ordinances developed by other communities:
Oglala Sioux Tribe: Law and Order Code: SECTION 10. SHUT OFF FOR NON-PAYMENT OF RENTALS.
- Bills are affordable to the majority of community members.
- Billing be accurate, consistent and convenient for customers to pay.
- There is a fair, clearly defined and consistently enforced consequence for not paying bills.
Having a consequence for failure to pay monthly bills is important for two main reasons. First, the desire to avoid the consequence serves as a motivator for community members to stay current on their bills. Second, it is influential on customer satisfaction as customers who do pay may feel frustrated and taken advantage of if other community members who don’t pay continue to receive the same service for free.
When a customer who is capable of paying fails to pay their bill, one consequence that many communities have found effective is to shut off that customer’s water or sewer service. Enforcing shut-offs can be challenging as emotions surrounding this consequence understandably run high. In small communities, this task often falls on the water treatment plant operators who have often found themselves facing the discomfort of being required to shut-off service to their friends and relatives. In order to implement a shut-off policy that is effective and as easy as possible to enforce, consider the following key points:
- Develop a clear ordinance that outlines the shut-off policy.
- Communicate with customers, explain the reasoning for and details of the shut-off policy.
- Consider holding a community meeting and soliciting customer input in fair policy development in order to increase customer support and buy-in.
- Enforce the policy consistently. Define exceptions to the policy ahead of time.
- Support the staff members tasked with physically shutting off a customer’s connection.
- Ensure that the actual mechanism for shut-off is easily accessible to staff members enforcing shut-offs, not located inside of customer homes and protected from tampering.
Needless to say, all efforts should be made to assist customers who fail to pay due to a genuine inability to do so. Click here for more information on Affordability and Customer Assistance programs.
Here are some examples of shut-off ordinances developed by other communities:
Oglala Sioux Tribe: Law and Order Code: SECTION 10. SHUT OFF FOR NON-PAYMENT OF RENTALS.