Want to know
about the easiest way to take care of your monthly utility
bill? By participating in the Bank Draft Program, your bill
is automatically paid on the due date, and you don't have to
worry!
The forms
for the Bank Draft Program are available at the Utility
Department (or call 256-718-3221 and one will be mailed to you.)
This form authorizes automatic bank drafts to pay your bill.
The drafts will occur on the due date, so there is no
penalty fee. You'll receive a bill marked "Paid by Draft"
each month, so you'll know how much has been withdrawn.
Electronic Bank Draft Brochure
SpeedPay is
one more method to quickly pay your bill. You can use your
checking account or credit card online or call the toll free
number at (866) 678-8869. There is a $4.95 fee for using
Speed Pay.
The Budget
Billing program examines the previous 12 months' bills,
determines a monthly payment amount based on that history,
and in May, you reconcile by making up any shortfall or
overage.
The Budget
Billing Program is designed to let qualified Florence
Utility residential customers pay the total of their yearly
utility service bills in 12, approximately equal, payments.
To qualify, you must have had service on our system for the
last 12 months, and your account must have a zero balance at
the time the application is processed.
Please note
that your first year on the program may not cover a full 12
months, depending on when you enter the program. Regardless
of when you enter the program, your account will be balanced
with the May billing of each year and a new budget amount
calculated for the next budget billing period (12 months).
Calculation of Budget Billing amount:
If you
have lived at your present address for 12 months or
more, your budget billing amount will be your last 12
months' average utility bill plus 5%. If you have lived
at your present address for less than 12 months, we will
estimate your average usage. This will vary from your
actual usage because of factors such as the number and
ages of family members and the size of the living space.
This may cause a larger balance with the May billing if
your actual usage is greater than our estimate.
Yearly
Adjustment:
The
monthly budget billing amount will apply until May. In
May, the account will be balanced to zero. A credit
amount will be deducted from your account. A debit
amount will be billed to you. The budget billing amount
will be recalculated for the next budget billing period
(12 months) based upon your last 12 months' usage.
Closing
Budget Account:
Either
Florence Utilities or the customer may cancel the
agreement covering the budget plan at any time. All
credits or debits must be paid in full at the
termination of this agreement.
If a
Budget Billing payment is missed:
Your
monthly budget billing amount must be paid each month,
regardless of any credit you may have on your account.
If the payment is not received by the due date, there
will be a penalty added to the monthly budget billing
amount. If the account is not paid, we may remove you
from the program and the account must be paid in full at
that time.
Usage on
your bill:
Your
monthly utility bill will disclose your usage for the
month. This will allow you to monitor your usage.
Your
Monthly Bill:
Your
monthly bill will have all the same information that you
receive now. The amount due will still be shown in the
upper right-hand corner and at the bottom of the bill.
In addition, there will be an added line showing the
prior balance of your account. If you have a heat pump
loan, a Project Help donation, a mobile service loop
payment, or any other miscellaneous payment, these
amounts will be added to the monthly budget billing
amount which will then be due on the due date.
For more
information on any of these programs, call 256-760-6512.
The Social
Security Payment Program allows customers receiving Social
Security benefits to move the due date of their utility
bills to a date after they should have received their
checks. This will allow them to avoid the penalty for late
payment if payment is made by the new due date. The new
dates, assigned by Florence Utilities, will be the 5th, 6th,
9th, or 11th, depending upon the location of the service
address.
This program
is solely for residential customers and only for their
primary residence. The customer's account must be paid in
full at the time of the application. Customers who qualify
shall complete an application prior to acceptance.
The customer
has the right to end his participation in the program at any
time. If participation in this program fails to show
positive effects in assisting the customer in the timely
payment of his utility bill, Florence Utilities reserves the
right to return the customer's account to the billing date
applicable to its service address. Upon termination of
participation by either Florence Utilities or the customer,
any outstanding bill will be governed by its existing due
date.
EXCEPTION:
Should you decide to move from your current location, a
final bill will be billed the following workday after
disconnection and will be due by the due date stated on the
final bill.
Florence
Utilities reserves the right to discontinue the program at
its discretion.
To qualify
for this program, you must meet the following requirements:
- All
accounts to be included on the invoice bill must be in
the same name.
- Your
accounts must be paid in full at the time the
application is processed.
- You must
have 5 or more accounts that you want on the invoice
bill.
- You must
notify us of which accounts you would like to include on
the invoice bill. You may not want to include all of
your bills on the invoice or you may add accounts in the
future.
