BILLING INQUIRIES
Billing Office Hours: Monday 8:00am - 6:00pm
Tuesday through Thursday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:00am to 1:00 pm
Billing Office Location: City Hall Building, 1 Junkins Avenue, Room 304
Billing Office telephone number: (603) 610-7248 or 610-7237
SERVICE REQUESTS
Services provided by the department includes: changing or installing water meters and turning service on/off at property.
Maintenance Dept. Hours: 7:30am - 3:30pm, Monday through Friday
Maintenance Dept. Location: Public Works Building, 680 Peverly Hill Road
Maintenance Dept. telephone number: (603) 427-1530
BILLING INFORMATION
FREQUENCY OF BILLING: The City bills all customers on a monthly billing cycle with readings obtained on the last day of each month.
MINIMUM METER SERVICE CHARGE: The minimum meter service charge is for costs associated with making water service available to each customer and is based on the size of the meter located at the property. This charge is assessed to the water portion of your bill only. There is no minimum meter charge assessed to the sewer portion of the bill.
WATER/SEWER CONSUMPTION CHARGES: The City Council adopted on June 8, 2015 the Fiscal Year 2016 Water and Sewer Rates, effective July 1, 2016. WATER RATES - There will be no increase in the water user rates.
Tier 1: First 10 units of water consumed will be billed at a rate of $4.15 per unit. Tier 2: Consumption above 10 units of water will be billed at $5.00 per unit.
SEWER RATES - Sewer rates will increase 4% on July 1, 2016 and be reflected on the bill received in August for July's consumption.
Sewer charges are based on water consumption
Tier 1: First 10 units of consumption will be billed at the rate of $12.24 per unit. Tier 2: Consumption above 10 units will be billed at the rate of $13.47 per unit.
IRRIGATION METERS - Please be advised of the following changes regarding irrigation meter usage. Irrigation consumption will be billed at the following rates effective July 1, 2016.
Tier 1: First 10 units of consumption will be billed at the rate of $5.00 per unit. Tier 2: Consumption above 10 units and up to 20 units will be billed at the rate of $9.70 per unit.
Tier 3: Consumption above 20 units will be billed at the rate of $12.05 per unit.
| | | | |
FY17 User Rates For Consumption Used Effective 7/1/16 |
| | | | | |
| | Water Rates | | Sewer Rates |
| | | | |
First Tier Rate (10 units or less per month) | | $4.15 | | $12.24 |
| | | | |
Second Tier Rate (units over 10 per month) | | $5.00 | | $13.47 |
| | | | |
Irrigation Meter Rate (3 tiers Effective July1, 2016) | | | | |
First Tier Rate (10 units or less per month) | | $5.00 | | |
Second Tier Rate (units over 10 and up to 20 per month) | | $9.70 | | |
Third Tier Rate (units over 20 per month) | | $12.05 | | |
ESTIMATED BILLS
An estimated bill is rendered when we are unable to read your meter, such as when the reading device has become dislodged. Your bill will indicate an estimated reading in the meter reading section of your bill. It is important for the City to obtain an actual reading as soon as possible. A corrected billing or issuance of credit will be applied to your account when an actual reading is obtained.
BILLING TERMS
Your bill is payable upon receipt. You have 30 days from the date of the bill to pay your balance in full before a penalty will be imposed. Penalty per month of 1.5% will be added if not paid within 30 days of bill date. Your prompt payment is appreciated.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
For your convenience, the City has implemented six methods of payment for water and sewer bills. Please note that some payment methods take longer for the payments to be posted to your account. The following methods of payment are listed in order of promptness:
- Auto-pay (same day credit to your account): Monthly automatic electronic debit transfer from your checking or savings account that posts to your water and sewer customer account on the due date. Contact the Water/Sewer Billing Office at (603) 610-7248 for more information and to receive the form required for a one-time setup.
- Payment made at the Tax Collector's Office in person (same day credit to your account): Cash,check or CC is accepted at the Tax Office window.
- Grey Box drop off (same day credit to your account): The Grey Box is located outside of City Hall. Payment must be made by check only and must include payment stub or the complete 12 digit customer account number [ex. xxxxxxxxxx-xx] written on the check.
- City website online payments (estimated 2-7 days for payment to be credited to your account):
Visit http://cityofportsmouth.com/onlinebillpayment.htm to make a payment on your water and sewer account by using your bank account or credit card. Please note: A convenience fee is charged by the third party processing company as follows: - ACH (electronic check) payment: This method may take 2-4 days before payment is posted to your water and sewer account. (Convenience fee of 35¢).
- Credit Card payment: American Express, Discover Card and MasterCard may be accepted for water/sewer payments. This method may take up to 7 days for payment to be posted to your water and sewer account.(The convenience fee is calculated based on the payment amount and fee assigned by the credit card processor.)
- Mail (estimated 4-5 days for payment to be credited to your account): Payments can be mailed in the return envelope enclosed with your water and sewer bill. These payments are processed by the bank and can take up to 4-5 days and sometimes longer.Your payment must include bill stub or the entire current 12 digit customer account number [ex. xxxxxxxxxx-xx] written on the check.
- Online bill pay through your bank (estimated 10-12 days for payment to be credited your
Account): Payments made through your bank's online bill pay service is not recommended for payment of your water and sewer bills as it can take up to 10-12 business days before your payment is posted to your account. Payments paid through your bank are processed through a third party payment service contracted by your bank. Although a payment may clear from your bank account, the processor does not send the payment to the City for up to 10-12 days causing a delay in posting payment to your account. If you choose to use this method of payment to ensure proper posting to your account, the entire current 12 digit customer account number [ex. xxxxxxxxxx-xx] must be entered in the bank's payment setup and allow plenty of time for processing.
FINAL BILL REQUESTS
Final bills are generated at the request of property owners or their representative. In order to process the final bill request, the City must obtain a visual reading from the meter. The following guidelines have been established to process final bill requests: readings will be completed within 48 hours of the request, access inside the property is necessary between the hours of 8am - 3pm, and authorization by the owner to perform meter maintenance if required. No final readings will be scheduled on Wednesdays.
The Department will not be responsible if we are unable to process a final bill request due to a failure in following the above guidelines. There will be a final bill charge of $40.00 assessed to your account to perform the final bill process. Please contact the Water/Sewer Billing Office at (603) 610-7248 or (603) 610-7237 to schedule a final reading or if you need additional information.
