Joplin utility bills to have a different look

(From City of Joplin)

Utility bills covering residential trash and wastewater services will soon have a new look and also now include a return envelope for citizens to utilize when making their payments. Initially, the billing statements did not include this envelope as a cost-savings measure.

During this transition, customers should be aware that the monthly statement will look different for a couple of weeks. When the inventory of the initial statements is depleted near the end of December, the City will utilize the new statement format, but for a short time, the mailings will NOT have an imprinted City logo due to a delay in production. The new statements with a logo imprint and the return envelope are expected to arrive in mid-January. In the interim, citizens should watch for this unmarked statement in the mail during the first few weeks of January.

Making this switch to include envelopes in the statements had been discussed earlier this year, although City officials wanted to utilize all existing statements before ordering new bills with a return envelope.

“When the City originally took over the billing service of these utilities late last year, we wanted to keep the costs to the customers as low as possible,” said Finance Director Leslie Haase. “With this in mind, the City decided to order a basic statement type of bill to use, and this format did not include a return envelope for our customers. We’ve heard from many of our residents about their desire to have an envelope included, so when we reordered the statements, we changed the format accordingly.”

The new statements are marked “Utility Bill” on the front with the City’s logo remaining on the backside of the envelope. The bill is still a flat type bill to keep postage rates as low as possible. The return envelope is attached to the bottom of the statement. This type of return envelope must be torn off and folded accordingly to mail the payment to the City.

In addition to mailing their payments, citizens can also use the City’s drop-off payment box on the west side of Joplin City Hall, 602 South Main. The Finance Department also accepts payments on the third floor of City Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For questions about wastewater and trash billing, please call 417-627-2955.