March 1, 2023
February Utility Bill Update - February 28, 2023- Updated
In our City Council’s effort to make sure the city is not overbilling your utility account, your February 2023 (and the January required payment) water bill will be the same as the December 2022 or your monthly average utility bill. The February bill deadline is extended to Thursday February 16th at 3 pm
At this time, our new city staff work every single day with: 1) the water meter manufacturer, 2) the new smart meter installer, 3) the utility billing software company; and 4) the engineering firm coordinating the purchase and replacement of the smart meters to ensure that when the final updated utility bills are sent out in March 2023, they are accurate. Sadly, many factors contributed to some inaccurate water bills.
As you recall, while the city’s 14-year-old meters- which have a warranty period of up to ten years- were recording actual water consumption some of the outdated meters were not sending the radio signal to the meter reader driving by your house to receive a signal with your water use.
We now understand from former staff, Jourdanton, like in many other cities, used monthly low-water use averaging- for about 20+ years- to determine the amount residents would be charged for water use.
In some instances, what we have recently learned, many water bills were estimated low or simply charged the very minimum monthly bill amount required per city ordinance or less in some cases.
“Going forward,” once the new smart meter computer billing system is fully operational and tested by all involved parties the computer-generated monthly utility bills will be accurate.
In the event your February 2023 payment has already been automatically billed to a credit card you can email by Tuesday March 21st, 2023 at 3pm - utilitybilling@jourdantontexas.org -to request either a check refund or a credit to your utility account for the March 2023 utility bill. Sorry, the city does not have the ability to offer a credit card credit.
If requested, a check refund will be mailed- in about 5-6 weeks – after an updated and or a corrected March 2023 water bill can be generated, in accordance with city ordinance and PUC regulations.
In summary, in the event you are eligible for a February 2023 overpayment refund, the refund can be applied to your March 2023 water utility bill, or you can request a refund check. Just let us know- utilitybilling@jourdantontexas.org - by March 21st, 2023, at 3 p.m.
Online Payments can be made at: https://www.municipalonlinepayments.com/jourdantontx
Register for Texts Alerts at: https://www.jourdantontexas.org/list.aspx
Accurate water use and accurate billing ensures the City’s Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Superior water system rating is maintained.
Thank you- with your payment- for helping the City maintain the TCEQ Superior system recognition.
The City of Jourdanton is an equal opportunity employer and provider.