Lately we have had some recurring concerns and questions from our members about our disconnect procedure for non-payment of accounts. I would like to address some of those issues in this column. Disconnecting accounts is the worst case scenario for all involved. Unfortunately, disconnect procedures are a necessary evil in our business. They are intended to protect the co-op membership against the costs and loss of revenue from uncollectible accounts and provide a consistent method to deal with those accounts. The SMPA Board considers this procedure very carefully and how it may impact our members. The first basic premise to understand is that, like most other bills, it is ultimately the member's responsibility to make sure the bill is paid on time. If your bill is paid on time our procedure for non-pay will never be an issue for you. If you plan on being on vacation or being gone for an extended period of time, don't forget to make arrangements to pay your bill while you are gone. Please do not rely on forwarded mail alone to remind you when your bill is due. You have the following options to consider: 1) set up auto pay by calling our offices at 970-626-5549, between 7AM and 5:30PM Monday thru Friday. If you do not like to auto pay your accounts, 2) you can pay your bill on-line at www.smpa.com, 3) you can pre-pay your bills for the time that you will be gone, or 4) you can now pay your bill by phone using our new automated system, any time, day or night with a credit card.

The whole process starts when bills are prepared and mailed right at the first of the month. They are due on the 1st of the month. If the bill is not paid when the next billing process is ran (end of month), it is assessed a $10 or 1.5% late fee, which is greater. The billing statement will show a Past Due amount. Delinquent Letters are mailed Monday, 14 days after the bill Due Date. The delinquent amount must be paid within 14 days after the date of the letter. Service disconnects are done the day after the Delinquent due date. The week prior to the scheduled disconnect date we initiate automated courtesy calls to those who are on the disconnect list. It is important to note these calls are a courtesy only and do not change the disconnect time line if the member does not receive them for some reason. If SMPA personnel are sent to the property to process a disconnect, the account is charged a $100 Disconnect fee, regardless if the disconnect is actually performed. If the disconnect is performed remotely, a $50 fee is charged to the account. Should a member request the service to be reconnected after hours there will be an additional $75 After Hours reconnect fee. That will have to be paid, along with the delinquent amount and disconnect fee before the service can be reconnected. Some of the steps and fees were recently changed through the revision of our Rules and Regulations policy, which was noticed to the members per our Bylaws. As a further safeguard to the Co-operative we will also require a deposit from any account that has had 3 delinquents in one year. If you have good pay history and have always paid your bill on time but are having some type of hardship that is making it difficult for you to pay your entire bill on time, please give us a call. Our Billing staff are trained and authorized to work with members to the extent we can, to help you through a rough time. It is certainly best to be proactive and work with us before the situation affects your account status.