City Takes Over Water Billing, Residents Face Service Disruptions and Delays

Copperas Cove city officials moved quickly on Dec. 17 after third party biller FATHOM closed, placing water billing and related administrative services under city control. The abrupt change has produced heavy customer demand at the Copperas Cove Utility Administration office, with phones ringing constantly and dozens of residents visiting in person each day to resolve questions about bills and payments.

City Manager Ryan Haverlah said one reason for the recent surge in contacts is a clustered due date. "One of the reasons why is because Jan. 6 ended up being the due date for approximately 6,000 customers," he said, urging residents to take advantage of lower volume periods to seek help. Haverlah also emphasized that the city will not assess penalties while it completes a new billing platform. "Until we get a new CIS System, which is the billing system, up and running, we will not be applying late fees," he said, and officials expect the transition to be complete in February.

Customer service staff have been fielding higher than normal volumes of calls and walk ins since early December. The utility office reports receiving more than 1,000 calls over recent weeks and seeing hundreds of customers each day as automatic payment services and other processes were disrupted. That strain has left some residents frustrated by long waits and delayed bills.

"We have called numerous times. I had to leave work just to even come up here," said Patricia Hendrix, who described difficulty reaching a representative. Copperas Cove resident Hope Ransom also spoke of repeated visits, saying, "This is my third time back here to pay the bill this month and it's because when I go in, there's 20 or more people in line." Ransom added that she hopes the city can resolve the problems soon. "I'm just hoping that they work out the kinks and that it gets back to normal," she said.

Officials say customers can expect a mailed letter in the next couple of weeks outlining what to expect during the transition from FATHOM. In the short term the suspension of late fees and the city promise of a new billing system aim to shield residents from financial harm while staff stabilize service. For many households, especially those who must take time off work to visit the office, prompt restoration of reliable billing and payment options will be the clearest measure of progress.