City of Lodi addresses issues with utility billing

Following complaints from 80 residents being charged late fees for utility bills they paid on time in December, the City of Lodi is searching for a new electronic payment system provider, according to City Manager Steve Schwabauer.

While this is not the first time the city has had trouble receiving electronic checks for utility bills, Schwabauer said that people with a history of paying their bills on time will have the late fee waived if their bill was paid on time.

“If there’s a person who routinely pays their bills on time, we take their word for it and waive the late fee. What has happened in the past is that a staff member will not waive the late fee, so there has been a failure to waive on our part,” Schwabauer said.

Barbara Sefried is one such resident whose late fees were not waived, and said that her issues began a few months before this most recent round. Her bill from August to September 2017 showed a double charge, she said, meaning that her payment from July to August had not been received despite proof from her bank that the money had been withdrawn and the check mailed.

Although Sefried said that the supervisor told her that the mistake would be resolved, she began receiving monthly delinquent payment fees starting at $10 and increasing to $55, along with a threat to shut off her water that would require a $325 connection fee. She added that she set up automatic payments from her credit card, and carefully checks each statement to make sure that her utility bill is paid on time.

“$55 for me is one-third of my food budget for the month. My daughter and grandson are living with me, along with my ex-husband who has dementia. I have to take care of him. If I am 76 years old and pay my bills online and always on time, how many others has this happened to, who are older and don’t want to fight it? That’s my question,” Sefried said.

Sefried added that somebody from the finance division called her on Thursday and informed her that the $55 late fee would be reversed.

John Johnson, a Lodi-based accountant, was among the 80 residents who received a delinquent payment notice on Dec. 5. Although his fee was waived after he produced an invoice from his credit card company showing that he paid the bill on time, he expressed concern that the city did not notify residents that this issue occurred. Johnson added that the city has experienced similar problems for years, ever since they first began accepting payments online.

“If I was late, I’d pay the fee. I have no problem with that. I understand that their computer system ticked me with a $10 late fee. I have no problem with that, either. My point is not that this happened. My point is that they didn’t tell people that it happened,” Johnson said.

Schwabauer said that the city did not issue a notice because the issue was resolved as soon as Deputy City Manager Andrew Keys was notified.

“Once it was brought to Andrew’s attention at the finance division, it was corrected that day. We didn’t feel that this warranted an alert because we feel we were able to rectify it in a timely manner,” Schwabauer said.