Sioux Falls utility users could see late fees grow by five times, but councilors push for more modest hike

'5 percent just seems a little punitive to me.'

All signs indicate Mayor Paul TenHaken this week will get the bulk of utility rate hikes his administration is asking for.

But a proposal coming from the Public Works Department to increase the penalty for water and sewer customers who pay their bills late is giving City Councilors pause ahead of their Tuesday night vote.

The city of Sioux Falls for years has applied a $1 or 1 percent fee — whichever is higher — to utility payments that come in late. And customers who get service shut off also pay a $28 reconnection fee. The Public Works Department, though, wants to up the late fee to 5 percent and double the reconnection fee.

“It isn’t our intention to add revenues with this late fee increase, but to motivate our customers to stay current on their bills and decrease the amount of time and resources dedicated to collections and disconnections,” Public Works Director Mark Cotter wrote in an email to councilors last week.

Councilors, though, will consider alternatives to what City Hall is proposing, instead contemplating smaller increases to the fees assessed to utility bills when folks miss payments.

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