The City of Harrisonburg is working to upgrade its bill payment system, and the work will result in the closure of some city departments early next week.
The treasurer and commission of the revenue offices will be closed Oct. 9 and Oct. 10 while the new system is installed. During this time, staff will not be able to access customer accounts. Also, the public utilities department will be unable to access customer information but will remain open for emergency calls.
Community members will not be able to pay their bills Monday or Tuesday unless they leave payment in the drop box in front of City Hall. Due dates for Harrisonburg public utilities bills have been adjusted to a later date so as not to coincide with the planned closure dates.
Regular services should resume at the offices on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
Once the upgrade is in place, community members will find a new process for paying bills online.
Once the system upgrade is complete, a new pricing schedule will go into effect for online payments:
- Credit card payments will have a service fee of 2.99 percent with a $1 minimum
- Debit card payments will have a service fee of 1.99 percent with a $1 minimum
- E-checks will have a flat $1 service fee
- There are no fees to pay by cash, check or automatic draft (EFT) from a checking or saving account; fees only exist for payments by credit, debit or e-check.
These are fees charged to the city by the online payment processing company and they cannot be waived by the city for any reason.
Paying city bills
- Community members will be able to make an account to pay bills online
- Community members can click to create an account using their email address or another already established account through services such as Apple, Facebook, Google or Microsoft.
- Once an account is created, community members will be able to link all their accounts – personal property, utilities, business licenses, etc. – and pay all their city bills at one time. The past system required each bill to be paid separately.
- Payments can still be made in person (except for Oct. 9 and 10) by cash or check at city offices, by using the overnight drop box at City Hall, or by mail.
More information on paying city bills can be found at www.harrisonburgva.gov/pay-bills.
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Crystal Graham
