May 20, 2021 3:20 a.m.
Staff with the City of Roseburg said the Water Department is asking water customers to reach out to discuss past-due balances as the department prepares to resume normal utility billing practices this summer.
City Finance Department Director Ron Harker said the City suspended late fees and water shut-offs for nonpayment for a year and a half during the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents who weren’t able to pay their water bills during the pandemic were allowed to carry their balances forward. Harker said as COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease and the City starts to transition back to normal operations, the Water Department will resume normal billing practices on July 1st.
Starting in July, the Water Department will once again charge late fees and potentially start the process to shut off water for non-payment.
Harker said, “Not wanting to put adversely affected customers in a position of having their water shut-off, we will be setting up utility payment plans for those who cannot immediately bring their accounts current”. Harker said they want those in need to reach out to staff.
Customers can also contact the state of Oregon’s emergency assistance program for renters and these nonprofit organizations to ask about possible financial assistance with utility bills:
*Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program: https://www.oregonrentalassistance.org
*United Community Action Network at 672-3421 or at www.ucancap.org
*St. Vincent de Paul at 580-0680
Harker said water customers who pay their current bills and contact staff to set up a payment plan for amounts that were past-due by the July billing cycle will not have their water turned off.
Under normal circumstances, each customer has 30 days from the bill date to pay the utility bill. If someone hasn’t paid by the 30-day deadline, they will get a late notice with an additional 15 days to pay from the day the bill is due. Once the late-notice deadline passes, if the bill is not paid, they will get a shut-off notice and are charged a $20 fee. The shut-off notice gives a disconnect date by which the customer must pay in full to avoid having the water turned off, and adds a second $20 late fee that must be paid before service is restored, if the water has been shut off.