Budget Billing
Budget Billing is a free program that allows residents to establish a set bill amount each month. This is not an automatic payment withdrawal service; however, a set bill amount each month makes it easier to utilize automatic payment services that may be offered by your financial institution.
The Budget Billing plan year is from March through February. A customer may sign up for the service at any time; however all budget bill accounts will have an "even up" statement during the month of February. An "even up" bill will be generated during the month of February in order to reconcile the arrearage or credit balance on the account.
If the account has a balance due, the entire account balance must be paid in full in order to remain enrolled in the Budget Billing Program. If the account has a credit balance, a refund check will be enclosed with the February statement. If you have a credit at the end of the Budget Billing plan year, you will automatically be re-enrolled in the Budget Billing Program for the next year.
A letter will accompany your February "even up" billing statement, and this letter will contain notification of any changes in the Budget Billing amount for the upcoming year. In order to avoid excessive arrearages or credit balances on your next "even up" bill, your set monthly payment amount may need to be recalculated. Recalculated Budget Billing amounts for the next plan year will begin with March billing statements.
Accounts that are enrolled in the Budget Billing Program are subject to late fees and delinquency procedures if Budget Bill amounts are not received by the due dates. An account may be removed from the Budget Billing Program if payments are not consistently received by the due date.
If you pay by mail, or through your financial institution, we recommend that you schedule your payment at least 7 to 10 days in advance of your due date to assure that we receive your payment on time. If you prefer to make your payment on the due date, we recommend making your payment online, through the City of Fairfield's website. Payments may also be placed in our depository box located on the south side of the City Municipal Building, or by phoning the Utility Billing Office at 513-867-5370 to pay with a Visa or Mastercard.
If service is disconnected for non-payment, the total account balance (including any arrearage), plus delinquency fees, will be required to reconnect service. If service is disconnected for non-payment, Budget Billing services will be discontinued. If an account is removed from Budget Billing for failure to pay, Budget Billing will not be reinstated for a 12-month period.
If you have additional questions, or to enroll in the Budget Billing Program, please contact our Utility Billing Office at 513-867-5370.
Eligibility
- Only residential accounts for owner-occupied properties are eligible.
- In order to sign up for Budget Billing, your utility account must be at a $0 balance and in good standing for the past twelve months.
- Customers may sign up at any time; however, the customer must have a history of at least 6 months in order to participate.
Program Process
- Utility Billing personnel will determine eligibility and calculate your budget bill amount by averaging your charges for the past twelve months. If you do not have a twelve-month history, we will determine an average bill amount based on the history that is available. At least six months must be available in order to participate in the program.
- You will then receive monthly statements for the calculated budget bill amount. You will continue to see actual consumption and related charges on your monthly statements. This is important, as it allows you to evaluate your consumption for consistency and to help detect abnormal consumption.
- Upon receiving your second Budget Bill statement, a running balance of your banked dollar amount will appear on your statement in the form of an arrears or a credit (preceded by a negative sign). This running balance refers to last month's ending balance before your current statement was generated.
- You must pay your budget payment amount each month in full, even if you have a credit balance listed in the banked total.
- If you do not pay your budget payment amount by the due date, a late fee will be applied to the account. The total of your budget billing amount, plus the late fee, must then be paid in order to stay on track with future billings.
Billing Cycle
The Budget Billing plan year is from March through February. A customer may sign up for the service at any time; however all budget bill accounts will have an "even up" statement during the month of February. An "even up" bill will be generated during the month of February in order to reconcile the arrearage or credit balance on the account.
If the account has a balance due, the entire account balance must be paid in full in order to remain enrolled in the Budget Billing Program. If the account has a credit balance, a refund check will be enclosed with the February statement. If you have a credit at the end of the Budget Billing plan year, you will automatically be re-enrolled in the Budget Billing Program for the next year.
Recalculated Budget Billing Amounts
A letter will accompany your February "even up" billing statement, and this letter will contain notification of any changes in the Budget Billing amount for the upcoming year. In order to avoid excessive arrearages or credit balances on your next "even up" bill, your set monthly payment amount may need to be recalculated. Recalculated Budget Billing amounts for the next plan year will begin with March billing statements.
Late Fees/Delinquency Procedures
Accounts that are enrolled in the Budget Billing Program are subject to late fees and delinquency procedures if Budget Bill amounts are not received by the due dates. An account may be removed from the Budget Billing Program if payments are not consistently received by the due date.
Payments
If you pay by mail, or through your financial institution, we recommend that you schedule your payment at least 7 to 10 days in advance of your due date to assure that we receive your payment on time. If you prefer to make your payment on the due date, we recommend making your payment online, through the City of Fairfield's website. Payments may also be placed in our depository box located on the south side of the City Municipal Building, or by phoning the Utility Billing Office at 513-867-5370 to pay with a Visa or Mastercard.
If service is disconnected for non-payment, the total account balance (including any arrearage), plus delinquency fees, will be required to reconnect service. If service is disconnected for non-payment, Budget Billing services will be discontinued. If an account is removed from Budget Billing for failure to pay, Budget Billing will not be reinstated for a 12-month period.
Additional Information
If you have additional questions, or to enroll in the Budget Billing Program, please contact our Utility Billing Office at 513-867-5370.