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Delinquency and service protection

Understand the shut-off process before it reaches your door

The safest time to ask about a past-due balance, payment arrangement, or hardship protection is before the final notice. This page translates the provider’s published rules into a practical checklist.

Notice and timing

How delinquency is handled

Grace period after the due date

No universal fixed grace-day count is published. Bills are due upon receipt or by the delinquent date printed on the statement; payment options describe the bill as due within three weeks after billing, and payments after that date incur the late charge.

Late-fee calculation

Payments received after the delinquent date are charged a late fee of 10% of the applicable amount or $6, whichever is greater. A $25 returned-payment fee applies, and after a returned payment the City may require cash or guaranteed funds. For delinquent service, the current start-service page lists a $35 processing fee in addition to all past-due balances; the rates-and-fees page lists a $35 disconnect-processing fee, $50 cut-lock fee, $100 meter-pull fee, and $25 NSF fee.

Disconnection timeline

Residential water service cannot be discontinued for nonpayment until the customer has been delinquent for at least 60 days. The City must issue written notice at least seven business days before discontinuation and make a reasonable good-faith effort to provide a further 48-hour termination reminder using the customer’s selected text, phone, or email preference; absent a preference, the City uses phone. If a payment arrangement is breached, the City may post a final notice and disconnect no sooner than five business days afterward. The public policy does not provide a single calendar date beyond these minimum thresholds.

Statutory warning protocol

What notice should you expect?

Tracy’s SB 998 policy is published in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, and Vietnamese. The written notice goes to the account mailing address and, when different, to the service address addressed to Occupant. It must state the customer and delinquency amount, deadline, extension process, bill-review and appeal rights, alternative/amortized payment options, and Finance customer-service contact information. The City may give the initial notice by telephone; if mail and phone contact fail, staff make a good-faith visit and leave a conspicuous notice. A second 48-hour reminder uses the customer’s text, phone, or email preference, with a conspicuous-location notice if those attempts fail. Landlord/master-meter occupants receive written notice at least 10 days before shutoff.

If a notice seems wrong

Document the account balance, payment confirmation, notice date, and any household medical or accessibility concern. Then call the provider using the contact information on its official bill or profile before the stated deadline.

Restoring service

Reconnection costs and timing

The current utility pages publish a $35 processing fee plus all past-due balances to maintain or restore service; the fee schedule calls it a disconnect-processing fee. No separate regular-hours versus after-hours reconnection price is published. Only City personnel may reconnect the meter, and unauthorized tampering can add cut-lock, meter-pull, or other actual charges. A qualifying household below 200% of the federal poverty level is charged the restoration fee but may receive a once-per-12-month waiver of interest on delinquent bills under the residential shutoff policy.

Need a payment arrangement?

Ask before the shut-off date

Tell the customer-service representative that you are responding to a delinquency notice and ask specifically about installment plans, hardship protection, charity referrals, and the amount required to stop the disconnection order.

Customer protection guide

What to do when a bill becomes urgent

A delinquency notice from City of Tracy Finance Department – Water, Wastewater, Storm Drain and Utility Billing should be treated as a time-sensitive account document. Read the exact due date, amount required, notice method, and contact instructions on the notice, then compare them with the provider details in this guide.

If you have already paid, gather the confirmation number and posting date. If you cannot pay the full amount, call before the stated shut-off date and ask about arrangements, hardship protections, agency referrals, and the minimum amount needed to pause action.

Keep the conversation specific: ask what will stop the order, when the payment must post, whether a reconnection fee applies, and whether the utility requires a separate request for medical, accessibility, or household-protection status.

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