Utility Billing Shutoff Process

Water and Sewer usage is billed once per month on or around the first business day of the month. Meters are read within the last (5) five days of the month to determine water used for the previous month. As an example, a bill produced May 1 will cover the service period for the majority of April and a few days of March.

Bills are due upon presentation (City Municipal Code 13.04.050) as they invoice for water already consumed. The City’s utility bills are due on the last business day of the month, as stated on the bill, and must be paid by the due date in order to avoid a penalty.

In the event a utility bill becomes delinquent, a late fee will be assessed to the account and the late fee, as well as the delinquent balance, will be stated on the following month’s bill. The penalty is 10 percent of the unpaid balance and will be charged every (30) thirty days as long as there is a past due balance. A late fee may be waived once in a 12-month period at the customer’s request. In addition, a late notice of delinquency will be mailed, on or around the 10^th of the month, to the customer at the same address as the original bill.

If a utility account has a past due balance that is close to being (60) sixty days delinquent, a pending shut off notice will be mailed to the customer. If a customer fails to pay their bill by 3:00 p.m. on the due date printed on the pending shutoff notice and has not made any other arrangements with the City for payment, the water/sewer service to the address on the notice will be terminated on the date specified. A service termination and restoration fee will be assessed to the account, which will be due along with the entire past due balance, as well as a deposit, before service will be restored.

Once sufficient payment has been received, a workorder will be placed with our Public Works staff to restore service to the address. Restoration requires a staff member to travel to the location and manually restore service. This is scheduled as time allows and may not occur for several hours.

Please note: If you make a payment to restore service via our website, you must contact us to let us know the payment has been made. The online payment system does not notify Utility Billing staff that a payment has been made.

Low Income Payment Arrangements

Customers who demonstrate their household is below 200 percent of the federal poverty line may be eligible for special payment arrangements or amortization of the unpaid balance. A customer shall be deemed to have household income below 200 percent of the federal poverty line if any member of the household is a recipient of the following:

CalWorks
CalFresh
General Assistance
Medi-Cal
Supplemental Security Income / State Supplementary Payment Program
California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Or the customer declares the household’s annual income is 200 percent below the federal poverty line.

Payment Extensions

The City recognizes there are circumstances which may prevent our customers from making their utility bill payment before the due date on their pending shutoff notice. If you need an extension to pay your past due balance, the City may provide an extension of up to two weeks from the shutoff due date. The City may also offer amortization of the unpaid balance or an alternative payment schedule. Please contact Utility Billing at (530) 926-7510 to inquire about setting up an extension.

It is important to understand that such an extension does not move any other due dates, and therefore you are likely to have another past due bill by the time the extended bill is paid, so please consider this before making an extension. Setting up a payment extension does not prevent or cause to be waived any late fees on the account.

If you have questions about your past due balance, would like to contest your bill or make payment arrangements please contact Utility Billing at (530) 926-7510.