Billing & Collection
Town Hall
124 E. Wade Street
Telephone: (704) 694-5171
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Key Payment & Disconnection Details:
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Payments are due by the 25th of each month.
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If the 25th falls on a weekend, the deadline extends to the next business day (Monday).
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The disconnection list will be distributed to staff by 9:00 a.m. on the 26th.
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If the 26th falls on a Saturday, the list will be sent out by 9:00 a.m. on Monday.
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If the 26th falls on a Sunday, the list will be sent out by 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, with payments accepted until 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
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Customers making payments after the disconnection list has been issued will still be assessed a $75 cut-off fee.
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If service has already been disconnected, restoration will occur only after all scheduled disconnections are completed, which may result in delays until after 5:00 p.m.
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Service restoration requires full payment of the outstanding balance, along with a $75 reconnection fee.
Is your water bill higher than normal
With everything costing more these days, try to find the reason for possible extra water use.
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Look in your yard for a wet area or very green grass – a pipe in the yard may have a leak.
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Where is your hot water heater located? Is it in a closet or under the house where you might not notice leakage? A leaking hot water heater can also cause your electric bill to jump.
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Check your inside faucets for drips or leaks. Depending on how fast the drip is this can add to your water usage.
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Do you have an outside faucet/spigot? Is it off tightly or is it dripping?
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Do you suspect someone may be using your water from the outside? There are locks for such problems available at the hardware store.
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Does your toilet run when you are not flushing or perhaps take longer to fill up the tank? Sometimes you won’t hear any noise from the toilet but will see water movement in bowl. A running toilet can use a lot of water without you realizing how much that it adds up. You don’t always see water on the floor from this leakage because it goes down your toilet bowl. If you are on sewer, this can also add a lot to your bill.
I think I have a water leak
If you think you may have a water leak, the water department can check your meter to see if it shows usage when you think everything is off in the house. If the water meter is running but no water is turned on, then you may have a leak.
If you suspect a water leak, the first thing we ask is to have the customer check their toilet for a possible problem by using our free dye tablets available at Town Hall. You place a blue tablet in the tank for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight and it turns tank water blue. Make sure your hands are dry or the tablet will dye your fingers. If your bowl water turns blue and you did not flush, this means your tank is leaking. It may be as simple as needing new toilet tank pieces.
It is a lot cheaper to fix this problem than to let it continue to cost you additional water/ sewer fees. Sometimes it may take more than 1 time to catch a toilet running with dye tablets. If this is the problem, you need to repair it as soon as possible. Toilet leakage generally gets worse over time. Shaking the handle is not fixing the problem – that is, temporarily stopping the usage. If you cannot find your water leak, you may need a plumber to check for a possible problem. They will advise you on how to correct the water leak.
When you discover the location of the leakage, repairing is your only option to stop high water bills. Repairs are your responsibility or your landlord’s if you rent, but you must let them know of the problem. If you do not have a leak, try to see where you use so much water. You can read your meter daily to track where your most usage comes from. Then see what you're doing at the time to cause that usage – it may be something as simple as taking too long of a shower, filling a pool, washing cars, watering a garden/grass, or pressure washing.