For Ronn Griffin, a junior in psychology, paying the water bill online for the house he rents is not worth the trouble, but Chuck Vaught, Carbondale’s revenue officer, said it is a more convenient way for residents to pay their bills.

“It’s another way to process a payment, especially if you’re out of town,” Vaught said.

This was the first week Carbondale residents could make online payments for their water and sewer bills.

Advertisement

Griffin rents a house on South Beveridge Street with three other people. The four roommates usually write separate checks for their water bill, which is usually about $40, he said.

Griffin said he has paid bills online before and considered using the option until he found out a convenience fee is charged for using the service.

“I need every penny I can get,” Griffin said.

The fee, which does not go to the city, starts at $1 for bills that are less than $25 and increases as the amount of the bill does.

The service, which other cities like Champaign and Bloomington also use, is provided through the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office and can be accessed through Carbondale’s website.

“In essence, what the customer is doing is paying the state, and the state is depositing the money for us,” Vaught said.

In addition to the online service, residents can opt to have the money for their water and sewer bills taken directly out of a bank account. With this option, he said, the money is taken out of the debit account when the city processes and mails out the bill.

Advertisement*

Vaught met with a representative from the Treasurer’s Office Monday to get the online service up and running, he said. A representative from the water department confirmed the system was working Thursday, and they have already received payments.

“Every time a payment is made, we get an e-mail,” Vaught said. “Each day we will go to the site to see what payments have been made.”

However, Vaught does not recommend using the online payment option if the bill is late. He said this is because it takes approximately two or three days to process.