Search on for lost water bills

The familiar line given by folks wanting to delay payment of a bill is, “the check is in the mail,” but in the case of the city of Desloge they want residential and businesses utility customers to know their February water bills are in the mail — it’s just that the post office has no idea where they are at this very moment.

“We took the water bills down to the post office on Feb. 25 and paid for them to be mailed out,” said Desloge City Administrator Greg Camp. “It’s just that the local post office doesn’t seem to know where they are right now.”

Camp said the bills, like all local mail, are sent out to a U.S. Postal Service sorting facility and then sent on to the post office … except in this case they haven’t yet.

“People are used to receiving their water bills at a certain time each month,” Camp said. “With February being a short month anyway, people have become a little concerned about where they are. Here we are at the fifth of March and they haven’t arrived yet. We just want everyone to know that we’re aware of the problem.”

Camp said that while due dates will be extended a certain amount, customers can pay their bills by stopping by city hall and providing their service address. Customers can also call 573-431-3700, ask for the amount owed and mail it in or pay their bill online.

“The bills may show up in everybody’s mailbox today,” said Camp. “But at this point we’re not sure that will happen since nobody seems to know where they are.”

Kevin Jenkins is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-518-3614 or kjenkins@dailyjournalonline.com