City of Wausau Owed More Than $740,000 For Unpaid Water Bills
Water Bills Not PaidDid you know that that more than $740,000 of water bills went unpaid in Wausau alone last year?
Over the past few years, Wausau Public Works and Utilities say that number has grown larger and larger as people continue to not pay their bills.
The Director of Public Works and Utilities, Brad Marquardt says that 1800 different households never paid for their water in 2012. That leaves the city having to rely on the county to get that money back. Marathon County is in charge of adding whatever outstanding cost people have yet to pay to their taxes.
When people do pay their taxes, they will find they have to pay overdue charges first, says Marquardt.
"Here in Wausau, the county handles the tax bills after the first of the year so when taxes are due again, any amount the property owner pays first, pays off the water bill before it goes to the taxes"
Not every city or village handles it this way. For instance, the Village of Weston will simply turn off your water if you don’t pay. The city of Wausau does not have the capability to turn off water in homes, but if people choose to neglect their payments, they will be hit with a huge fee at the end of the year.
Marquardt says that there were right around $100,000 more of unpaid water bills in 2012 compared to 2011.
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