Chouteau Public Works Authority (PWA) Trustees discussed charging a fee to deliver final notices to PWA customers during their monthly meeting Monday.

Mayor Jerry Floyd explained PWA employees spend an entire day delivering the pink cutoff notices directly to the customer’s door step. He asked the board to consider a fee for delivery of the notices.

“It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort,” said Floyd.

PWA Secretary Juanita Rabbit said she researched other town’s procedures when customers don’t pay their bills. She said Pryor mails notices to customers; Mazie charged $10 to deliver door hangers and Salina doesn’t issue a final notice, and cuts the service off for nonpayment after a certain date.

Utility Superintendent Cecil Lane said the PWA delivers approximately 140 cutoff notices each month. He said employees cut off between 17 to 20 customers for nonpayment each month.

Chouteau charges a $25 reconnect fee if the utilities are cut off.

Trustee Brenda Cunningham said customers are already charged a 10 percent fee for late payments and a reconnect fee, so she doesn’t see why they should be charged even more money.

“I think that’s plenty,” she said. “It’s going to affect the poor people.”

Trustee Sandra Madison said a delivery fee may discourage customers from letting their bills go overdue each month.

Floyd said the town is paying the salary of two PWA workers to deliver the notices for approximately eight hours each month. Rabbit said it takes half a day to get the notices ready.

No consensus was reached on whether a fee should be charged. The board took no action.

The board discussed a grace period for utility payments when the due date falls on a weekend or holiday. Floyd explained a customer was upset when they were charged a late fee for paying their bill on Monday when the bill was due the previous Saturday.

Cunningham said some people may not feel comfortable leaving their payment in the payment box available for after hour or weekend payments. She suggested customers not be charged a late fee as long as they pay the bill the following Monday. The board approved the grace period.

In other business:

• The board approved purchasing a metal detector line locator from BARCO for $1,029.

• The board approved the effective date for the water rate increase passed last month as Feb. 1, 2009.

• The board approved a $2,792 bid from Neugin Construction to install overhead doors for the utility department warehouse. A second bid was received from Northeast Oklahoma Garage Doors for $3,651.