Today in the mail, I received a delinquent notice from the City of McKinney. The notice, written in big bold RED letters, stated that I did not pay my bill for water/sewer/sanitation. I was appalled. I always pay my bills early, much less delinquent. "To avoid termination of service and additional charges, the past due amount must be received in our office by 8am.....So, I looked through my paid bills file and noticed that I did not receive a bill for June. Was it lost in the mail?

   Nooooo! It never arrived. Our homeowners group has a wonderful internet group that allows us to communicate with our wonderful little neighborhood here. I sent out an e-mail asking if anyone else in the neighborhood received a delinquent notice. Guess what? Everyone who was not on an automated billing program received a delinquent notice. They panicked and quickly called the automated payment number to pay their bill.

   Now, was there a late fee attached to said payment? I don't know, but, don't you think the City of McKinney would think it strange that an entire neighborhood of around 50 homes all failed to pay their bills the same month? Perhaps this is a new marketing scheme to get more money by charging late fees for bills we never received. Perhaps someone is asleep at the switch.

   I am already upset that my sewer charge has gone up from $11 dollars to $19.50 a month in just the past few billing cycles. My water bill is $16.26, but I pay $19.50 for sewer. So basically, I pay more for what's going out than what's coming in. When I questioned this once before, I was told that the sewer charge was determined by my water usage. I'm trying to conserve water, but my bill keeps going up. A lose/lose situation.

   I guess the city thinks we are blind little sheep that are just happy to pay whatever bill comes our way. They jack up the rates...too bad..just pay the bill. Or better yet, they don't have to send us a bill and we can get our water shut off or panic and pay a delinquent bill.

   OK, people, let's talk to one another. What can we do to help one another? Keep informed! I love the city of McKinney. It's the greatest, but we need to make sure we arent getting taken advantage of or taken for granted.