The Park Forest Water Billing Department has proposed a new policy to the board of trustees at Monday night's board meeting.
The policy requests approval to implement a $50.00 missed appointment fee for customers who fail to provide advance notice of cancellation for their scheduled appointments with the department.
Finance Director Mark Pries, who oversees the Water Billing Department, said the fee isn't to generate revenue but to deter people from skipping out on appointments they made.
"Typically, these appointments involve the customer being at their residence at an established date and time to allow Village staff into their residence to perform their necessary tasks," Pries said at the board meeting. "Unfortunately, with increasing frequency, water and sewer customers are not where they have agreed to be for their appointment, which then requires the appointment to be rescheduled."
Pries said that, in some instances, customers would miss their second, third, and fourth appointments. This is costing the Village money, as staff members aren't able to do their jobs because they're being stood up by customers.
"If you consider a staff member's hourly wage plus benefits, these missed appointments could cost taxpayers over $60 per appointment," Pries said. "The price tag could double or triple if there are multiple staff members on the location of the missed appointment."
The board of trustees is expected to rule on this amendment at the next board meeting on Monday, Sept. 16.