Marianna no longer sending late notices for bills

By KATE McCARDELL KERN

Published: July 16, 2008

In an effort to improve efficiency and cut down on postage costs,the City of Marianna will no longer provide late notices on overdue utility payments, according to city staff.
Residents of the city will still be required to pay for garbage, water or gas by the 15th of each month, according to city billing clerk Jackie Bradley.
“The due date is printed on the bill and the cut-off date is the 20th of each month, unless the 20th falls on a weekend, which would make the cut-off anytime after the 20th,” said Bradley.
Bradley said city staff researched other cities to see if they provided customers with late notices and learned that no other Jackson County cities did. Neither did DeFuniak Springs or Chattahoochee, she said.
“It takes three employees all day to do the late notices. It’s a whole process. And then there’s the charge for the postage. Where just trying to cut back where we can,” said Bradley.
Bradley said the city bill is always due o the 15th of the month, unless that falls on a holiday or weekend. If it does, the bill is due on the next business day.
Bills may be mailed to the city; hand-delivered to Marianna City Hall; or dropped off at one of two drop-box locations, with one outside of the city hall and another located at the Public Works facility on South Street.
The city does not accept credit or debit card payments, and encourages customers to remember to include their ticket stub, the rip-away portion of the bill, with their payment to ensure accuracy.