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Wrightsville Beach
Friday, March 29, 2024

Water billing change catches some by surprise

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A change in the town of Wrightsville Beach’s water billing practice caught dozens of Wrightsville Beach residents by surprise this week, resulting in some unexpected cut-offs and charges, town manager Tim Owens said.

Beginning with this billing cycle, the town stopped sending second notices to customers that hadn’t paid their water bill on time. The change caught many by surprise.

During this billing cycle, the town had 89 cut-offs for non-payment, Owens said. Normally, there are between 20 and 40 each month that have their water services cut off due to missing a payment. There are approximately 2,700 customers on the system, he added.

The town’s board of aldermen voted to make the change earlier this year, Owens said. There was a notation on the water bill that there wouldn’t be a second notice, but the town didn’t send out a flyer or advertise by public notice to notify customers.

However, while some customers were caught by surprise, Owens said that most customers “got the word.” And while some customers were using the pink second notices as a reminder, Owens said it was a practice the town wanted to eliminate.

“For us, there is money, time and effort invested in issuing a second bill. For most bills, like credit cards and car payments, you don’t get a second notice, so we knew it would be good to get away from that practice,” Owens said. “We knew there would be some hiccups.”

The missed bills cost residents $50, which Owens said went to cover the staff time needed to cut off and reconnect water service.

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