What if I am unable to pay my bill by the due date?

There is a Deferred Payment Plan available to our customers who find it difficult to make their payment in full or by the due date.  We require that you come into the Finance Department to complete the paperwork for the deferred payments. Finance Department personnel will work with you to set up a payment schedule. Unless there are some extraordinary circumstances, we do ask that a partial payment be made when the agreement is signed and final payment be scheduled prior to receipt of your next regular quarterly billing date. However, if you should default on the agreement, the utility may deny deferred billing for a period of one year, assuming your account has remained in good standing for one year.

When should I call if I am moving?

BEFORE YOU MOVE OUT!  The following is a list of questions we will ask you when call.  However, the most important thing is to call before you move because we cannot get a retroactive reading, so if you wait to call until after you have moved out, you will pay for charges you might not have incurred.

• Name & Address (moving from)

• Forwarding Address

• Telephone Number

• Date of reading requested (move out date or closing date)

What should I do if my bill seems extremely high?

In most cases, a bill that is unusually high is the result of a water leak that you are not aware of. The first place check is the toilets. A leaking toilet can consume an extraordinary amount of water. Most people believe that they would hear a leaking toilet, but this is not always true. In many cases the rubber plunger slowly deteriorates and allows the water to leak without any noticeable sound. You can check your toilet by putting food coloring into the back tank of the toilet and wait a few minutes. If the colored water passes through down into the bowl, you have a leak. This is a constant leak and could become quite costly if not corrected.  We cannot adjust for water that has passed through the meter, even if you never used it or benefited from it. Further, the water does drain into the sanitary sewer system and we cannot adjust the sewer portion of your bill.  If no leak is detected, you should turn all the faucets and water sources off in your home and go to the meter. If the meter continues to move, you have a leak somewhere else in your home.  If you cannot find the leak, we will come with special instruments to find the leak for you. However, you are responsible to repair the leak. Also, considering the bill may be very high due to this leak, we would provide special arrangements for making deferred payments. (SEE FIRST QUESTION)

Why do I have a quarterly water bill when I was out of town during the entire billing cycle and my water was turned off?

Even if you don’t use any water, you will be billed for the base charges for public fire protection, a meter service charge, a sewer base charge and a stormwater charge. These are fixed charges for service and billed each quarter even though there was no consumption. If we pull your meter and reinstall the meter when you return from an extended absence, your water and sewer charges will be suspended. However, you will have to pay for the meter reinstall and you will need to schedule the reinstall in advance.

How is my meter read? I never notice anyone at my home to read the meter.

Every customer in the Village of Fox Crossing Utility District has a meter that sends a radio signal to specific equipment we use to record meter readings. This equipment is installed in a meter reading vehicle and as the meter reader drives near your residence, the equipment is programmed to accept a reading from your meter.  The meter reader brings this equipment to the billing department and the readings are downloaded into the billing software. The software detects erroneous readings and if there is an indication that the reading is unreasonable, the meter reader returns to reread your meter. Only on rare occasions are readings estimated.

What is that little meter attached to my siding?

Before the utility district had the system to read meters by radio, there was an outside meter reader attached to the meters inside. The inside meter transmitted the reading to the outside reader. This was convenient in that the meter readers no longer had to get inside your home to read the meter. However now that we have all radio read meters, if you still have a remote reader attached to your house, you can remove it and throw it away.  It is no longer connected to an inside meter.

Where can I find the rates so I can check the accuracy of my bill?

Rates and other important information can be found on our website, www.foxcrossingwi.gov. Rates on the back side of the bill may not reflect the most current sewer charges.

What are my payment options?

Payments for utility bills can be made as follows:

• Online

• By mail using the payment envelope included with your bill

• Dropped off in the night and week-end deposit box located at the front entrance of the Municipal Complex just to the left of the main doors. The deposit box is opened each morning Monday thru Friday and will be receipted the day it is taken out of the box.

• Made in person at the Finance Office of the Village of Fox Crossing Municipal Complex. The village currently only accepts Cash, Check or Money Order.

• By bank drafting (auto pay) as described below.

What is Bank Drafting?

It is when your utility payment is withdrawn directly from your bank account. You will receive notice of this withdrawal prior to it occurring. This service would eliminate the need for you to write and mail your check. Additionally, as long as there are funds in your bank account, bank drafting would eliminate the possibility of a late payment. This is especially useful for customers who vacation in another state for the winter. You can pick up the forms for bank drafting at the Finance Department or call us to have one mailed to you.

Do I get a summer sewer credit?

The Fox Crossing Utility District Commission recognizes that residential customers may use additional water during the summer months to water lawns, gardens, and flowers and shrubs. They may fill swimming pools once or perhaps two times during the summer. They may wash their homes, cars, and other outdoor furnishings. Further it was recognized that this water does not go down the sewer and there should be some type of credit for this. However, they also recognize that typically customers also may use additional water that DOES go down the sewer, like extra loads of laundry, extra showers and baths. After running many calculations and projecting different scenarios, and in order to recognize both situations, the Commission has taken action to apply summer sewer credits as follows for the summer: The four billed quarters will be divided into two winter quarters (six months) and two summer quarters (six months) for each billed cycle. The charges for sewer in the two summer quarters will be calculated by determining what the highest winter quarter consumption was and multiplying it by 133%. That would be the consumption that sewer would be billed for in the two summer quarters. If there is no winter quarter history available, the calculation would be based on 17,000 gallons as the high winter quarter. Analysis of 2005 consumption records indicates that 17,000 is our district’s average quarterly consumption for residential customers.

Because there will be a credit in two quarters to capture all summer months, there will be no adjustment for any additional credits. Feel free to call the Finance Department at 920-720-7106 if you have further questions.

What is the “Public Fire Protection Charge?”

Public Fire Protection is a billed charge to all customers that assures you the water utility will provide two things:

• Adequate water and flow to extinguish a fire.

• Adequate location of fire hydrant to provide water availability.

The Public Fire Protection rate is determined by the size of your water meter.