River Bend Times

The city council of Camanche recently discussed changing the water/sewer utility billing cycle to monthly instead of quarterly at a Jan. 17 meeting.

The council proposed this idea because some members of the community prefer monthly billing to help them budget and remember to pay their bills more regularly. This would allow them to receive a bill in smaller amounts that might be more feasible. 

The concerns about changing the billing cycle include a rise in costs for the city that they would have to deal with. There would be much higher charges for printing out and mailing all of the bills 12 times a year instead of four times. They would have to send an employee around to check meters more often, which would take them away from other city responsibilities. The city also sends out base rate bills, and that amount has stayed very constant for the last six years. Any higher bills are based off the resident’s usage. They don’t have any proposals for increased rates anytime soon, so some members are also against changing the system because the bills have been so consistent. 

"You know, and I'll say this too, we're also going to lose money in fees and penalties," said Andrew Kida, Camanche city administrator. "And I discourage anyone from insisting that we should be seeking penalty fees against people who have a hard time paying the bill in the first place. If we can alleviate that stress in their lives then it's not a bad thing."

Public comment during the meeting showed an overall trend against the change. Residents came to speak about the idea, saying that they had perceived no issues over the last few decades that it had been this way and don’t see a reason to change. They feared that the increased costs incurred on the city if they were to change would be reflected in increased bills. The council did not take any action on the idea but continued it into their next meeting along with the water meter replacement discussion.