Water Bills Come With New Look, Options

A familiar piece of mail has a new look. Royal Oak's quarterly water/sewer bills are no longer being printed on postcards but in a new letter format with much more billing detail.

The new bill also comes with a convenient return envelope.

The new billing format is the result of new software, which is not compatible with the city's dot matrix printer.

“We had to either invest in a new printer or outsource the printing,” said Gail Collins, the city’s water billing clerk. The Water Department chose to outsource the printing. Collins said printing letters is “a little more expensive” than postcards, but the department is in the process of getting bids from printing companies to bring down costs.

“It’s less expensive to print the postcards in house,” Collins said, “but we’re saving on labor with the new system.”

The new program will also allow residents several new options, such as getting bills electronically, access their account online and pay the bill electronically. More information is to come on how to sign up for the services or check here for automatic debit information.

How are residents reacting to new bill?

Not favorably, and it has nothing to do with the letter format, but with the information on it.

Previously, water/sewer bills showed only the total amount owed for water and sewer combined. The new bill breaks out those costs.

“People are calling us about the cost of their sewer bill. They had no idea how expensive it is,” said Collins. “We are getting a lot of complaints.”