Delinquent water bill penalty

The penalty will be dropped if paid by Wednesday, November 22

By Maple Lake Councilor John Haack

There are all kinds of reasons for not getting your water bill paid as required, many bad but some perfectly legitimate. At the Nov. 8 Maple Lake City Council meeting, the majority of councilors agreed to drop the current existing 6% penalty if the bill is paid by 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 22. They agreed we’re all human and we all make mistakes, but regardless, that penalty, now in force for two weeks should be dropped for those of you who step forward to bring your account down to a zero balance. The City is dealing with accounts ranging from roughly $100 to $3,000 in arrears, with a total of almost $45,000 outstanding.

Last year, we had 28 such cases and this year, it has been nearly 50. City staff has reached out numerous times to those needing to resolve this issue and I personally reached out one recent afternoon, trying to meet with people with delinquent accounts. These accounts unfortunately but necessarily will be turned over to the county and penalties once again added if the matter is not resolved by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22. We have city staff that makes a real effort to collect for The City yet understands and try to deal with those having financial hardship and/or other legitimate issues. Do yourselves and the city a big favor and get this matter taken care of during this short window of benevolence. We care about our residents, but we need to get paid for the services our city provides.