Late Water Customers May Face $30 Red Tag Fee

Emmaus is about to crack down on water customers who repeatedly fail to pay their water bills on time.

In addition to late fees and the threat of having their water shut off, those customers soon may have to pay an additional $30 "red tag" fee.

"We'll sting these residents a little bit," said Jeff Clapper, the borough's public works director, who proposed the fee. "It's the same people every time."

 Clapper initially requested borough council approve a $50 fee for the time and labor involved in pursuing those who do not pay. "They settled on $30," he said, adding," I'm glad something is being done."

The proposed "red tag ordinance" is up for final approval by council at its Dec. 20 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m.

The ordinance to establish a fee for placing a red tag at a property got unanimous initial approval from council during its Dec. 6 meeting.

The fee would be imposed when borough personnel have to warn property owners their water is about to be shut off because they have not paid late bills.

Despite the name of the proposed ordinance, the fees placed on residents' doors are salmon-colored, not red.

 Borough manager Craig Neely said about 80 people typically do not pay their quarterly water bills on time, adding the same people are late all the time.

  He said those water customers get late notices telling them they have 60 days to pay. "If they don't pay, they get a shut-off notice. We have to go out and put a red tag on somebody's door giving them a date that their water is going to be shut off."

Neely said those customers create administrative staff costs in Town Hall and for water department personnel who have to go from house to house all over town to hang the tags. "It takes up a lot of time and it's very aggravating for staff," said the manager.

He said the fees are not intended to be a revenue generator for the borough, only a way to encourage more water customers to pay on time "before we get to that red tag step."

Emmaus has about 4,400 water customers.

After 30 days, said Clapper, the 50-80 people who do not pay on time already face 10 percent administrative fees.

After about six weeks, if they still do not pay, they receive notices reminding them to pay their water bills. After 60 days, the tags are hung on their doors. 

Those tags warn: "Water service to this premises will be discontinued unless past-due amount is paid in full by ___."

The tags contain another option: "Your water service has been discontinued. Service will be resumed when our office receives full payment of past-due bills."

No matter which option is checked, one boldface point is clear: "No partial payments accepted."

If water is not turned off immediately when a tag is hung on a door, Clapper said customers only have "two business days to square their account."

Neely said customers must pay an additional fee to have water service restored if the borough cuts it off.

Borough officials said water has been shut off to some customers who did not pay their bills, but it does not happen often.

Neely said he got a call Dec. 6, the same day as the last council meeting, from a man who had received a red tag and was going to have his water shut off that day. He was advised to pay the bill or his water would indeed be shut off.