• Quincy’s mail is processed in Jacksonville causing a delay in delivery to neighbors.
• Quincy leaders come up with solutions to make sure neighbors file their bills on time.
• Watch the video to see what neighbors can do if they get late fees because of this problem.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Every month you and I pay bills… never fun, but it is what it is.

But what happens when the city can’t get your invoice on time?

It’s happening right here in Quincy.

I have found that mail delays cause some neighbors to incur late fees on their utility bills.

I look at what the city is doing about this problem and how it affects the overall operations of their public utility department.

It’s a problem that’s causing some frustration among the neighbors.

A problem with no real end in sight.

People in Quincy are not getting their utility bills on time.

“We hope it will eventually work itself out.”

Anessa Canidate is Quincy’s Customer Service Manager.

“We use a third party dispatcher for the City of Quincy for utility bills”

Canidate says that while the city gets a third-party confirmation they use that the bills have been sent — neighbors don’t get those utility bills until after the due date.

This causes some to incur late payments and late fees.

“We rely on the customer coming in and paying the amount and saying ‘I was waiting for my bill’ so we can remove the late fees.”

Richard Ash is Quincy’s Director of Tools.

He tells me the mail is not processed in Quincy—it is sent east…hundreds of miles away to Jacksonville where it is processed and then sent back to Quincy. Round trip—it’s close to 400 miles.

These delays also affect the department’s operations.

“We’re seeing a lot more customers who are stuck on their bills. We understand there’s an email issue, so what we do is we take the extra step and call each of the accounts and remind them, so we don’t make the mistake of cutting remove them.”

So, what’s a solution … well, the city unfortunately can’t fix the mail problem – but they have other ways neighbors can try to pay their bills on time.

“They are more than welcome to either call customer service, visit the property or go online if they are registered to view their bills online.”

Neighbors can call customer service to start viewing their bills online.

As of right now, the Utilities Department will continue to make sure neighbors are aware of the problem and continue to credit and refund the neighbor’s late fees if the fees were caused by this problem.