Service and Billing Information

UTILITY BILLING INFORMATION

  1. Bills are mailed out on the last business day of each month.

  2.  A bill is past due if not paid by 5 p.m. on the 15th of the month (unless 15th falls on weekend or holiday) then it is due on the next business day.

  3. A late notice will be mailed to customers with past due bills on the 16thof each month (unless the 16th falls on the weekend or holiday) then the delinquent notice will be mailed on the next business day.

  4. A late fee will be added to the customers’ bill after the 15th (See Fees & Deposit Schedule attached).

  5. After the 25th of each month the customer’s account is considered delinquent and is subject to disconnection.  An additional delinquent fee is automatically added to the bill.  This fee shall be charged when the customer is written on the cut-off list or is physically disconnected.

  6. The past due bill and all fees must be paid in cash before service is reconnected (fee schedule attached).

  7. An additional fee will be charged to all customers who request service reconnection after 4:30 p.m. or on weekends or holidays observed by the City.  No service will be reconnected between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m.

  8. Customers who think a bill is in error or otherwise have reason to protest termination of utility service may contact Patty Miller, Finance Director at the City between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday - Friday at (910) 457-7906.

  9. Taxes:  Billings of the City will include applicable tax of 3% on electric as a separate line item on the bill.

  10. Billing Adjustments:  If the City has inadvertently overcharged or undercharged a customer for utility service, the City will promptly notify the customer.

  11. Water & Sewer Adjustments:  In the case where a leak takes place on the customer’s side of the meter that results in water not being discharged into the sanitary sewer, the customer may apply for an adjustment on sewer charges by presenting  the City  a note from a licensed plumber stating  the leak had been fixed and the water did not flow into the sewer.

  12. After Hours Payment Drop Box:  For customer convenience, a payment drop box is located outside City Hall at the back entrance located at East Nash Street.  A check and billing stub may be deposited in the box mounted on the wall.  Please do not deposit cash in the after hours depository.  Payments put in the box after 5 p.m. will be considered next-day payments.

THE CITY’S RESPONSE TO RETURNED CHECKS

  1. The city will accept only cash, certified check or money order from any customer having 2 insufficient funds (bad) checks within any 1 year period.

  2. Upon receipt of the 1st returned check it will be redeposited and thecustomer will be notified.

  3. Upon receipt of the 2nd returned check, the customer will be advised that ALL bills must be paid in cash, certified check, or money order for the next year.

  4.  After the 1 year period ends, if another insufficient funds check is received all future bills must be paid in cash.

  5. As allowed by the State of North Carolina, a charge is added to the customer’s bill because of each returned check. (See fee schedule attached)

EXTENSION OF TIME FOR PAYMENT OF BILLS

  1. The customer must pay ½ of the current utility bill in order to get an extension. All extensions are charged a $25.00 delinquent fee NO EXCEPTIONS!!

  2. Extension Requests must be made no later than 5 p.m. on the 25th by the customer or are subject to disconnection.

  3.  The customer requesting the extension must come by or call the City Hall to make the agreement

  4. No more than 2 Extension Agreements will be granted in a 12-month period.

  5. Each extension Agreement may be granted up to the 2nd Wednesday of each month.

  6. The Board of Aldermen reserve the right to approve additional extensions.

  7. If payment is not made as stated in the Payment Extension Agreement, service will be disconnected without further notice and all payments, including any disconnect and reconnect fees must be paid before service is restored.

  8. Optional Customer Assistance:  Customers being assisted by the Brunswick County Department of Social Services, Brunswick Family Assistance, or other local crisis intervention centers are exceptions to this policy.

  9. Difficulty in Paying Bill:  The following organizations may be able to offer assistance to customers who are having difficulty paying their bill

Brunswick Family Assistance Agency
5285 Main St Suite 15
Shallotte, NC  28462
(910) 754-4766

Social Services
Brunswick County Government Complex
Bolivia, NC  28422
Southport Number: (910) 457-6227
Bolivia Number:     (910) 253-2077

Local Community Churches

  The City of Southport encourages each customer to seek assistance with paying their utility bill prior to             disconnection of service.

OPTIONS IN BILLING PAYMENTS

To better serve the needs of its customers, the City of Southport offers the following options to bill payments.

  1. Equal Payment Plan: The purpose of this Plan is to spread the cost of utility service evenly, on a monthly basis, over an annual period.  The program is designed for those customers who wish to ease the impact of seasonal billings and level their monthly payments.  The Plan does not raise or lower the annual utility billings; it does allow the customer to plan ahead by establishing a fixed monthly payment amount.  This program is available only to residential customers with good credit payment history.  If you are interested in participating in the EQUAL PAYMENT PLAN, contact the Southport City Hall at 457-7900 for more information.

  2. Bank Draft Plan: Bank drafts offer customers the option of having their bank accounts drafted on a set date of the month. Your account will be drafted on the 15th or on the next banking business day.  The customer only needs to provide the City of Southport with a void check in order to participate.  Only customers with good credit are eligible for this program.  Any draft returned by the bank because of insufficient funds or a closed account will be treated as a returned check and the customer will be  released from the bank draft program.

  3. Credit Cards: The City of Southport will accept the following bank credit or debit cards for bill payments, deposits or fees
    Master Card
    Visa

The City will accept a card for payment in person or by phone and will verify each charge or debit account with the issuing bank.

LOAD MANAGEMENT

  1. It is possible to save on your electric bill by having load management switches installed on your electric water heaters, central air conditioning systems, or heat pump heating/cooling systems

  2. The cost of EACH switch, installed, is $135.00 payable upon installation or as an $11.25 monthly addition, per switch, to your electric bill over a 12 month period.

  3.  Water heaters are controlled 12 months of the year.

  4. Air conditioning units are usually controlled from May through October.

  5. All Load Management switches are installed by a licensed electrician.

A detailed description of the load management programs is included in the Load Management website section.

TERMINATION OF SERVICE

  1. Requesting Discontinuance of Service: Any customer requesting discontinuance of service shall request in person at the utility office of the location, date service is to be disconnected, and forwarding mailing address for the final bill. If the customer is not able to appear in person, we can disconnect the account via fax request or upon verification of account.

  2. Disconnection Scheduling: Disconnection of services will be performed the same day if the request is received by 1 p.m.  A request received after 1 p.m. will be fulfilled the next working day.

FINAL BILL

 A customer’s final bill will be processed and mailed along with the regular cycle billing.  All funds, including deposits, load management, and overcharge credits, will be used against amounts owed the City on the closed account first.  Remaining funds will then be used against any amounts owed on any other accounts the customer may have with the City of Southport.  When those accounts have been cleared, a check for the remaining money will be issued to the customer for any net credit

City of Southport Finance Page