Single Unit Example
Disclaimer: This bill is representative of the majority of single unit quarterly residential bills. Some bills may vary from this example.
Account Information
- Account Number and PIN is required to pay online. Account number is based on the location of the property and the PIN is randomly generated and remains the same for each billing cycle unless a change is requested by the property owner.
- Billing Date is the date the bill was generated.
- Due Date is approximately 30 days from the billing date. Account balances after the due date are subject to interest.
Amount Due
-Last Payment is the last time payment was posted to this account and shows the dollar amount and the date the payment was posted.
-Previous balance is the remaining principal amount that is outstanding from prior billings.
-Current Charges is the total billed for all services and included water, sewer, garbage, and surcharges.
-Penalty is added to outstanding balances that remain unpaid after the due date of the original bill and accrues at 1.5%.
Current Meter Activity
-The Previous reading is the water meter reading on record from the last billing cycle.
-The Current reading is the most recent water meter reading the Water Department obtained, a reading provided by the customer, or an estimated reading if an actual reading is not obtained.
-Gallons is the number of gallons billed between readings. The consumption is calculated by subtracting the previous reading from the current reading and applying the appropriate multiplier. For most properties, the multiplier is a value of 10. Sample Bill: 64,155 - 62,920 = 1,235 x 10 = 12,350 gallons used for the billing cycle.
Special Message:
-Upcoming holidays are often listed here as well as payment methods, the interest rate on outstanding balances, and important customer notifications.
Current Charges Detail:
Water rates vary depending on whether the property is located inside city limits, outside city limits, or is billed directly by Allegany County. Rates also increase for consumption over 50,000 gallons per billing cycle. For complete listing of billing rates, Current Billing Rates. Billing rates are stated per 1,000 gallons.
The billed water and sewer charges varies based on the water meter reading.
- Water Inside City: For the sample bill the rate is $5.80 per 1,000 gallons.
12,350 / 1,000 x $5.80 = $71.63
- Sewer Inside City: The billed sewer charge is based on the metered water consumption, however sewer is billed at a higher rate per 1,000 gallons compared to water. The calculation of the sewer charge for the example bill is as follows:
12,350 / 1,000 x $11.80 = $145.73
- Garbage, Bay Restoration, CSO Surcharge (combined sewer overflow), and Wt Surcharge Q (water surcharge quarterly) are all fixed surcharges base on the number of billing units. For a single family residence, one surcharge unit is billed for each service.
- Usage Bar Graph shows the prior four usage cycles and the current cycle. Looking at the sample, 2021 period 3 shows that the usage is 2.3 times higher than the prior quarter. An increase in consumption does not mean there is a leak, however, this may be seasonal usage depending on activities. In this case, the property has a pool which explains the increased usage. Refer to Water Waste Brochure for common issues and ways to reduce usage.
Remittance Slip:
- If mailing a payment, detach this portion of the bill and send to the City to ensure the payment gets posted to the correct account.
- If paying in person, the barcode on the remittance slip is helpful to scan to process the payment, but the slip is not required.
