ST. MARTIN PARISH — St. Martinville City Councilwoman Carol Frederick said utility billing questions in St. Martinville have gained attention after some residents reported unusually high charges following the installation of new electric meters.
Frederick said while the new advanced meter infrastructure, or AMI, meters have helped resolve many billing issues, some customers have still experienced problems, including months of lower-than-normal bills followed by sudden spikes.
The issue came into focus during Tuesday’s City Council meeting after a customer had more than $1,000 automatically withdrawn from his bank account. Frederick said the customer reached out to the city’s utilities department seeking clarification but did not receive a response for weeks.
“My point is we just need to correct, or take steps to correct, those issues when they come up,” Frederick said.
Frederick represents District 2 in St. Martinville and said she raised the concern not to criticize city employees, but to address gaps in communication that surfaced during the billing transition.
“Installing these AMI meters has basically eliminated a lot of our billing issues. It has helped us a lot. However, I was concerned because I’ve had five customers in my own neighborhood who have had an issue,” Frederick said.
In the case discussed before the council, the customer received a utility bill on Nov. 1, with the automatic draft pulling funds from his account on Nov. 15. A voicemail from the city was not left until Dec. 11.
“So 26 days happened between the time the money was pulled out of his account until he got a voicemail saying, ‘Hey, we can talk to you about this,’” Frederick said.
She said the delay raised questions about whether the city has a clear process for responding to customer billing concerns.
When asked if the city has a procedure for handling billing concerns, Frederick said there is no formal process in place and emphasized that her comments were not intended to assign blame, but to help improve how the city responds to residents.
Other residents in the district have also experienced billing irregularities. Frank DeBlanc, who lives in Frederick’s district, pointed to his new electric meter and explained what he saw on his bill. After one month when his electric bill dropped to $17, he contacted City Hall. The following month, his bill increased to about $300, compared to his usual average of around $90.
“It was a couple months ago they put it in, and the first bill I got with it was like $17 for electricity, which was pretty low. So I went to City Hall and made a complaint, and within another month they took care of it,” DeBlanc said.
DeBlanc said while the higher bill was unexpected, it could have been worse if the issue had gone unresolved longer. Based on his experience, DeBlanc said residents with billing concerns may get faster answers by going directly to City Hall rather than waiting for a phone call.
“I would physically go there and talk to the people,” he said.
Councilwoman Frederick said the council plans to look into developing a procedure to improve communication on utility billing at the next meeting.
