In January, Camden Council passed a resolution lowering the late fee for water/sewer/trash bills from 10% to 5% and setting a tiered fee structure to lower reconnection fees incurred by residents due to unpaid water service.
Councilwoman Debbie Hickman raised concerns about the fees, citing the effect of the current pandemic and economy and the hardships of some of Camden’s residents. Council members agreed and unanimously approved the following new late fee and reconnection charges structure:
- Lower the monthly late fee from 10% to 5%. Water bills are sent at the beginning of each month and are due on the 15th of that month with no additional fees or charges. Resident who have not paid by the 15th, have the option to pay the amount due plus an additional 5% late fee by the 24th of the month to avoid disconnection of service.
- If a water/sewer/bill remains unpaid by 4:30 on the 24th of the month, water service will be disconnected for the property. To have the service reconnected, the owner/occupant must pay the original bill due, any late fees, plus a reconnection charge. The reconnections fees are:
– $10 for the first reconnection in each calendar year
– $20 for the second reconnection occurrence in a calendar year
– $50 for the third and every consecutive reconnection that occurs in a calendar year
Each year on January 1, the reconnection fees structure is reset to $10 for the first occurrence, $20 for second and $50 for each additional occurrence per year.
The new fee and reconnection charges structure went into effect in January.
