Fewer residents behind on utility bills

Blaine finance director Daniel Heverling said shutoffs and overdue payments haven’t been much of an issue since the city placed a temporary pause on utility shutoffs last year. 

Blaine City Council passed an ordinance in December 2021 to use federal funds to implement a one-time utility relief program for residents unable to pay their December utility bill as temperatures dipped into the teens and the city had over 100 shutoffs the month before. This year, Heverling said any pauses on shutoffs will happen on a case-by-case basis. 

“If it’s 20 degrees out, it wouldn’t make sense to shut off people’s utilities,” Heverling said.

There is no policy on pausing utility shuttoffs due to weather, he said, but will be discussed with the city manager. The city has approximately 3,500 connections.

Residents haven’t been shut off due to staff shortages, Heverling said. The city will continue shutoffs once the finance department is staffed enough to handle shutoffs, he said. Shutoffs occur 30 days after bill date. The city also has a 20-day late fee for an overdue bill. 

Heverling said about 10 residents are behind on their payments, equaling about $1,200 or less owed to the city. 

Birch Bay Water and Sewer District (BBWSD) returned to shutoffs in March with 49 delinquent accounts and $27,807 dollars owed. The district is now owed $2,122, and finance director Sandi McMillan told The Northern Light in an email that the district had no shutoffs during the first full week of December and two the week before. 

Eighteen customers owe more than $50 and are over 60 days behind on their bill payments. The district also has 21 delinquent accounts that have been shutoff since before the pandemic. When it returned to shutoffs following the pandemic, 15 customers were disconnected as the other delinquent accounts had yet to reach the district’s prerequisite for utility shutoffs. 

BBWSD has more than 8,000 connections.

“We continue a partnership with the Community Assistance Program of Blaine and The Opportunity Council of Whatcom County to connect customers needing financial assistance,” McMillan wrote.

This story was updated December 16, 2022 to clarify that a pause on shutoffs will occur on a case-by-case basis and that shutoffs occur 30 days after bill date. We regret the error.