Fremont residents get bill delay
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on July 22, 2004 1:59 PM
FREMONT -- Fremont water customers will get an extra 10 days to pay their bills.
The town Board of Aldermen agreed to extend the cutoff day from the 10th of each month to the 20th to accommodate customers who are paid on the 15th.
If the 20th falls on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or holiday, water would not be turned off until the next business day.
Town Administrator Kerry McDuffie had recommended the change after listening to public comments at a previous town board meeting and after talking with town employees. The board passed the action during Tuesday night's monthly meeting in Town Hall.
McDuffie said the town also no longer will provide door-hanger notices 24 hours before the water is to be turned off.
"That was a lot of work for the town employees," McDuffie said Wednesday. "Many are for the same ones every month." The change will free time for the employees, he explained.
The $10, or 10 percent, late penalty will remain, and it will be added to unpaid bills on the 10th.
The board also approved a parade request for Saturday, Sept. 4, from the Norwayne School Alumni and Friends.
McDuffie said the group also will need approval from the state Department of Transportation before the parade can get a final permit.
The board also discussed but took no action on moving a fence that obstructs the vision of eastbound drivers on South Street at U.S. 117. McDuffie explained that the fence was erected at a car lot before the ordinance was passed, prohibiting such fences.
McDuffie said the property owner would not pay to have the fence moved but would not object to the town's moving it. McDuffie said the removal and reinstallation would cost $130, including concrete and a corner pole.
McDuffie recommended the change, but the board tabled the action until the regular Aug. 17 meeting.
"We didn't want to set a precedent," the administrator said. "It is a traffic hazard. But we want to make sure that it is OK to spend town money for a public purpose."
The board also passed a budget amendment to shift $1,340 for the water and sewer fund.
The board discussed several other items and heard routine monthly reports from Police Chief Ben Reid and Public Works Director Tim Howell.