
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 13, 1995                   TAG: 9505150030
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV9   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                 LENGTH: Medium

ADVICE TO RADFORD EAST END UTILITY CUSTOMERS: DON'T PANIC

Some utility customers in Radford's East End could find themselves in a bit of a budget bind when the city switches to a new billing cycle June 1, city officials concede. But they shouldn't panic. The city plans to go easy as the new system phases in.

City Council unanimously approved the new billing system last Monday.

To make the transition, Finance Director Jess Cantline says bills for some neighborhoods in that part of town will go out in close order on May 30 and June 10. Officially, each bill is due within 15 days, and service could be cut off if the bill is unpaid within 20 days.

"It's going to be rough on the people in the East End who get billed twice," Cantline admitted this week. However, he pointed out that the majority of the neighborhoods to get the first bills under the new system include areas around the university usually heavily populated by students, most of whom have left for the summer.

"It's the ideal time to do it," he said.

High Meadows subdivision also will feel the pinch. Cantline said the city will work with any hardship cases that might result from bills arriving less than two weeks apart.

For affected East End residents, Cantline said, the May 30 bill will reflect use in April and early May, while the June 10 bill will cover the rest of May and early June, depending on when utility meters were read. The city has used electronic devices to read meters for about five years, he said.

The city provides electricity, water and sewer service.

Under the new system, bills for the rest of the East End and mid-Radford go out June 20, while bills go out June 30 for users in the rest of the West End, the Little River Dam area and in Fairlawn, where Radford provides electrical service only to numerous customers on Lee Highway and Peppers Ferry Boulevard., Cantline said.

Under the present system, bills are mailed on the last working day of each month, due on the 15th of the next month and subject to cutoff after the 20th.

In some circumstances, a customer behind on payments could get almost three months service by the time service is terminated, Cantline said. That means sometimes even a utility deposit - an estimated two months' cost - could come up short in covering the amount owed.

With the new plan, the city will continue to read meters the same as previously, but bills will go out three times each month to various sections of the city.

Even under the present system, the utility bill delinquency rate is just a fraction of a percent, Cantline said, amounting to approximately $24,000 out of the more than $19 million billed last year.

"Most businesses would love to have that collection rate," he said.

by CNB