Nevada County Grand Jury • 2020-2021

Nid Billing and Payment Fees: Are they reasonable?

Published: May 04, 2021 18 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 11 findings

F1
Many customers use checks or bank drafts to pay their NID bills instead of credit or debit cards, in part because of the additional charges NID passes on to its customers.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
It is difficult to find complete information about payment types and fees on the NID website.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
NID should list all payment types, along with the associated fees, on its website in a place that is easy for customers to view. (F2)
F3
NID charges to consumers for using credit/debit cards are unusual among water districts surveyed and among other non-water utilities. For-profit businesses generally do not pass along the fees of electronic payments either.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The elected NID board members should have a public discussion about absorbing the cost of electronic payments for their customers, allowing usage of credit or debit cards without an additional fee to customers. (F3, F6, F7)
F4
Many water districts view the use of electronic payments as a cost of doing business, rather than classifying them as a property-related fee as described by Proposition 218.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
While NID relies on Proposition 218 as the rationale for charging electronic processing fees to customers, it does not fully implement the spirit of proportional charges. As implemented, electronic payment fees paid by approximately 80% of NID’s treated water customers offset the costs for the other 20% who use the service.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
The Jury was unable to find a NID Board-level discussion or approval to charge customers for electronic payments.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The elected NID board members should have a public discussion about absorbing the cost of electronic payments for their customers, allowing usage of credit or debit cards without an additional fee to customers. (F3, F6, F7)
F7
There was no public discussion at the Board level about the consumer fees being charged by Paymentus. Rather, the decision was made by non-elected NID officials.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The elected NID board members should have a public discussion about absorbing the cost of electronic payments for their customers, allowing usage of credit or debit cards without an additional fee to customers. (F3, F6, F7)
F8
The decision to select Paymentus was primarily focused on the cost to the district, rather than the cost to the consumers.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
Many consumers are unaware that they can switch to paperless billing.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
NID should provide frequent, detailed communication to customers about their ability to convert to paperless billing, both on its website and in paper bills. (F9)
F10
There is no easy-to-access detail that supports the additional $1.90 reporting fee charged to water customers each month by NID. While the Jury doesn’t have a reason to doubt its validity, it also couldn’t verify the details that led to the charge.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
NID should include a complete listing of the $1.90 regulatory fees that are included in the amount charged to customers in the COST-OF-SERVICE STUDY. The public should be able to see the individual fee by type, the total of all the fees, and the number of customers estimated to share the responsibility for the fee. (F10)
F11
There is no documented formal customer complaint process in place that allows for complaints to be monitored, resolved, and collectively reported to NID Management or the elected Board of Directors.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
NID should adopt a formal documented process for collecting, resolving and reporting customer complaints. (F11)

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Nevada Irrigation District Special District