The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety denied the request of Garden Courts on Pennsylvania Avenue to waive the late fee.
City Clerk Treasurer Jeanine Xaver read the request which said, “With the mail being behind we did not receive the invoice for our account until February 1st with a due date of February 4th. We sent out payment right away and acquired a late fee of $159.42. Can you please waive this late?” The request went on to say, “Also can you please give an extension on the current bill that is due March 4th so we do not acquire another late payment charge? I updated the email address on file so future invoices will be received with enough time to pay the bill.”
Xaver sent to Board of Works members a copy of the utility bill. She said the back of every utility bill states, “A 10% forfeited discount of the unpaid balance will be added to the total bill for water, wastewater, garbage and stormwater if not paid by the due date.” The clerk said they offer several types of payment: cash, check and money order in the office or by mail; credit or debit card can be used online or by telephone or in the office and they also offer automatic withdrawal from checking or savings accounts at no charge.
The Clerk/Treasurer said there is also a disclaimer on the back of each utility bill that states, “Bills for services on your account must be paid on time no matter what billing or payment method you use. You must keep your account billing information including mailing and email addresses current. We are not responsible for the U.S. mail or unreceived emails. If you are paying online through your bank, please be aware that we may not receive your payment prior to the due date. Your bill is not considered paid, until payment is received in our office.”
Xaver said in the last year Garden Court on Pennsylvania Avenue has paid their bill online 7 times and they did receive the March 4th payment on March 4th.
Without any discussion the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety denied the request. The vote was affirmed by all six members present attending the meeting.
