BILLINGS — A surge in city water bills has sparked outrage and confusion among many rate payers.
Concerns with utility bills first began in July when the city switched to a new billing software. That transition has caused problems for the city's water department, leading to delays in sending out those bills. In August, the city announced it would be sending out a combined bill for July and August, changing the payment period from a 30-day cycle to a 60-day one.
"To get us caught up in billing, we sent out these 60-day bills. About 21,000 went out this week, and obviously, they're a lot higher than people are used to seeing,” said Billings Deputy Director of Public Works Jennifer Duray.
Now that the bills have begun to be sent out, the problems persist. Many posted online about their bills being nearly triple their normal rates. One woman even had an $800 bill. Duray said that the high rate was due to a leak, but that it has not been the case for many others.
"A couple issues with leaks that people have had on those really high bills. Most people are tracking pretty normal with last year's usage at the same time," said Duray.
Billings resident Elizabeth Shumaker is one of many experiencing frustrations with their bills.
“I expected it to be like double what my normal bill would be because I thought it was just for two months. Normally my bill's around $80 to $90 per month and it was $286," said Shumaker.
Shumaker says that she was struggling to figure out the cost breakdown of her bill. She felt that there could have been a better explanation listed on the bill as to why she owed that high amount.
“It’s just really confusing. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on here," said Shumaker. "I think people are used to getting a regular bill that they can see how much water they're using. They can monitor that. We haven't had that."
The department said they have been flooded with calls, but so far, all of the bills they have reviewed are correct.
“The meter reading system didn't change. The meters didn't change. That's all the same, so there's nothing wrong with that and we haven't detected any errors in any of the bills we've checked so far," said Duray.
Duray said the increase in bills is due to several factors. One is due to the combined July and August billing. However, residents will have 60 days to pay them and will not incur late fees. Also, the summer months tend to lead to more water usage for gardening, lawns, and pools. In addition, rate increases for water, wastewater, and solid waste went into effect on July 1. Stormwater fees moved onto the utility bill as well, as they were previously included on the property tax bill.
“Overall, those rate increases for water, wastewater, and solid waste increased the bill about 7.8%. With that storm going on the utility bill, they actually see a 15.5% increase in just rates that were effective July 1," said Duray.
Roughly 1,000 have not gone out to customers for June, July, or August due to inaccuracies. The city will send out letters to those affected on Monday, but said they will have 90 days to pay their bill.
While the city is still hoping to help resolve those issues, residents believe it could have been handled better.
“I feel like that is a lack of transparency with the Public Works and the city, as far as how they are actually handling the billing. It's just a huge mess," said Shumaker.
Public Works encourages people to call them at 406-657-8315 with any bill concerns. They can also be reached by email at utilities@billingsmt.gov or through a direct message on their Facebook page.
