Paying your utility bill should be an easy and straightforward process.
But with online resident portals, paying in person or mailing a check, plus several other available options, it’s no surprise that credit card fees and extra costs sometimes catch residents by surprise.
These are a few of the challenges some Palm Coast residents face when trying to pay their utility bills. But there are ways to avoid confusion and to save money when paying your monthly bill.
With the city’s water and sewer rates set to increase by 31% over the next three years, knowing the best way to pay your bills is even more important now.
Here are some tips:
How to pay your Palm Coast utility bill online without extra fees
Paying your bill online can be fast and easy, with no need for extra fees.
First, go to the “Customer Portal,” accessible through palmcoast.gov/connect, and scroll down to find and click the “pay bill” tab on the right side of the screen.
Once you log in, one of the options to pay your bill is by using a credit or debit card. This method requires a $1.95 processing fee, according to the city website.
But customers also have the option of using a checking account.
To do so, click on the “E-Check” tab and fill out the required information, which includes your account number and your routing number, as well as other information about your bank account.
Residents can log in each month to pay their bill, or they can choose to set up “AutoPay,” which schedules payment automatically without the need to log in.
“AutoPay through a checking account is one of the easiest ways to ensure your bills are paid on time without any extra fees,” according to the city’s website.
How can I pay my Palm Coast utility bill in person or by phone?
Other ways to avoid extra utility bill fees are by paying your bill in person at City Hall or by phone.
To pay by phone, call 386-986-2360, which is available 24/7.
The city’s automated system gives customers option to use bank account information, credit card or debit card.
Residents can also pay in person with cash or check at City Hall, 160 Lake Ave., Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For information about paying your bill, call the city’s customer service line at 386-986-2360 or send an email to customer-service@palmcoastgov.com.
Vice Mayor proposes city reinforces control over utilities operation
During the City Council’s Tuesday, Nov. 18, meeting, Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri asked for consensus for the city to explore amending its utility ordinance to make it harder for this and future councils to sell the operation to private interests.
“We are seeing across the country utilities being purchased up by private entities,” Pontieri said. “This is a very concerning thing for me, because it takes local control out of the hands of the residents, of their own utilities, their own water.”
The vice mayor said reinforcing the ordinance is especially important now given “what is going on in Tallahassee as well.”
“We are losing a lot of local control, we are losing a lot of home rule,” she said. “We need to keep as much local autonomy as possible.”
She argued that selling the city’s utilities operation to a private company could mean less control over pricing, regulation and transparency.
“The amount of transparency that public utilities have to engage in is much stricter than that of private utilities,” Pontieri said.
She suggested a few ideas for amending the current code, including requiring a supermajority vote to approve privatization.
Also, to meet the state’s “public benefit” parameter to sell public utilities, which she called “vague and ambiguous,” the city could require that the “public benefit” criterium be met through a non-binding referendum.
Councilman Charles Gambaro said he agreed with the idea “conceptually,” but asked that the board further discuss the matter over a workshop session in the future.
The rest of the board agreed, and Mayor Mike Norris directed City Attorney Marcus Duffy to complete the legal research needed.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: How to pay your Palm Coast utility bill online without extra fees
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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