VIRGINIA BEACH — Soon residents will start paying for their water, waste and stormwater fees every 30 days rather than every two months.
The new city services billing schedule starts in July, according to Public Utilities director Robert Montague.
“What’s making it challenging for our customers on this bi-monthly schedule, is that with all these different services … the bill becomes pretty formidable with the average residential bill now at about $200,” Montague told city council Tuesday.
Though rates are not expected to change, the average Beach person could pay about $100 a month, Montague said.
The change came after council member Shannon Kane created an ad-hoc committee to tackle how to make the bill more manageable for residents. It presented its recommendation to shift to a monthly billing cycle in December.
“The anticipated customer benefits, we’re hoping, is that those smaller, more manageable balances on a more frequent monthly bill will help them get better to budget for and plan for that monthly expense,” Montague said. “It provides customers with more timely information about their water usage, which is important as they’ll learn about potential leaks in their house more quickly.”
According to Montague’s presentation, city service bills have almost doubled for the average resident since 2011, before it included a solid waste collection fee.
Montague said that residents’ city service bills for July will be a transition phase, accounting for about a 60-day period. In August, it will reflect about a 30-day period.
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