Utility Billing
Welcome to the Utility Billing Department
It is our pleasure to provide water, irrigation water, sewer, garbage and stormwater utility services to the Clermont residents and businesses. The Utility Billing division is responsible for preparing the utility bills and processing payments for these services.
Depending on where you live, your water, sewer, garbage and stormwater may be serviced by City of Clermont entirely or partially. Some services may also come from Lake County or by private utility companies. Please call and speak to a Customer Service Representative in the Utility Billing department to determine what utilities we provide to your residence or business at (352)241-7320.
New Policy on Reconnection Services After 3pm effective 1/1/2023
New Utility Rates effective 4/1/2023
New Sewer Rates effective 4/1/2023
We have partnered with Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Lake Community Action Agency to accept payments through the Low-Income Housing Water Assistance Program. This is Federal grant money that can be used to assist Florida residents with their utility payments. For more information on qualifications, and to apply call Lake Community Action Agency at (352)434-0554. Don’t wait to apply! Once the program uses all of its funds, they will no longer accept applications.
Please review all of our information below regarding our Utility Billing Processes. Please call our office at (352)241-7320 for more details or clarification on any of the below procedures.
There are two ways to sign up for new service.
- City of Clermont Utility Billing Office – City Hall 1st Floor– 685 W. Montrose St. Clermont, FL 34711
- Emailing documents to utilitybillingsupport@clermontfl.org
Please come with all documentation listed below:
*For new owners, we need a copy of your ID and either your property deed or signed closing disclosure with the location you want service for.
*For tenants, we need a copy of your ID, a signed lease agreement for the property you want service for and a deposit. You can email us the documents, but payments for the deposit can be made by mailed check or coming in to pay cash or use credit card. The service will not be turned on until the deposit is received.
- The residential deposit is $130.00. The deposit for businesses is 2.5 times the average monthly utility bill.
*A $30.00 activation fee will be charged to the first bill for all new accounts.
*Please let the Customer Service Representatives know if you wish to sign up for electronic billing and/or auto-pay for easy to manage billing.
We generate bills monthly to customers in 4 different cycles. Your cycle is pre-set depending on where your location is in the City. Water and irrigation is metered, we collect a meter reading monthly and you are billed for the prior month’s usage. If we are unable to get a read on your meter that month, the City reserves the right to estimate the read for the month per City Code Section 66-42. Sewer usage is calculated using the same gallons of your water usage, and garbage and stormwater is a flat monthly rate. There is also a utility tax of 5% for water and irrigation charges. You can find the breakdown of all of the utility rates here. The prior rates from 10/01/2022-03/31/2023 can be found here.
Due dates:
Cycle 1-12th of every month
Cycle 2- 18th of every month
Cycle 3- 24th of every month
Cycle 4-30th of every month (if February only has 28 days it will be due the 1st of March)
Payment Options:
- Check or money order by mail
- Cash, check, money order or card at the Utility Billing Office (service charge for using debit or credit card)
- Drop Box located at City Hall entrance near the parking lot
- E-check, debit or credit cards on our website (service charge applies)
- E-check, debit or credit cards through our phone pay system (service charge applies)
- Auto-pay – using our direct debit form
*A $25.00 return check fee will be applied to any check that gets returned for any reason. These fees will not be waived or excused for any reason. If we receive 2 returned payments in a 12 month period, your account will be placed on cash only, and you will have to pay by cash or money order for 12 months.
*For telephone payments, please call 1-877-690-3729 and use the jurisdiction code of 1922, and you will need your account information from your bill.
*You can pay online using our online payment portal.
If we do not receive payment in full by 5 p.m. on your due date, a $5.00 penalty will generate to your account and a delinquent notice will be sent. To avoid this, payment must be received and processed, not post-marked, and non-receipt of your bill does not constitute grounds to not pay or get an adjustment per City Code section 66-43.
You delinquent notice will give a final due date. This is the absolute last day we need payment of the past-due amount by 5pm before your water service will be disconnected for non-payment.
**You will get a new bill before your final due date. Your past due balance will be on your new bill, but this does not extend the due date of your past due balance to the new bill’s due date. You will be disconnected if your past due balance is not paid by the final due date on the delinquent notice**
Never miss a payment! We encourage customers to sign up for direct debit to auto-pay your bills. We will automatically draft the payment in full on your due date. Contact us for the enrollment form or download it from here to print and send in.
If your account is not paid in full by 5pm on the final due date listed on your delinquent notice, your service will be disconnected the next day. The Water Technicians receive a list in the morning and have no way to tell if you have made your payment from the time they receive the list to the time they get to your location to turn off water.
It is your responsibility to call the Utility Billing office at (352)241-7320 to let us know that you’ve made payment, but there is no guarantee for us to stop the disconnect process if the payment has come in that same morning.
Once we have confirmed you've made a full payment, the Water Technicians are advised to turn your water back on. This service is completed in a first come, first serve basis, and there will be no exceptions or prioritizing one customer over another for any reason.
To avoid getting to this point, make your payment by your due date, or sign up for auto-pay.
Leaks are unexpected and unfortunate when they occur. All property owners and tenants must be vigilant with scanning their property for internal and external leaks and running toilets, faucets and hoses. Be sure to fix even the smallest leaks immediately to avoid them getting bigger.
The City is only responsible for any water loss for leaks that occurred on the City’s side of the meter. Most of the time if there is a leak on the City side it is not near the customer’s meter and will not impact your billing.
Any water loss from leaks that occur on the customer’s side of the meter is the responsibility of the customer. If the customer gets a large bill and is in good standing and has a good pay history we will work with them to split payments of the large bill into increments, but a form must be completed for this agreement.
Irrigation system schedules need to be checked regularly. Most systems are set at night or early morning when a customer is sleeping, so you don’t know if something changed with the settings and is causing your irrigation to run more than you planned. If you get an unexpected high bill due to high irrigation, the City is not responsible for adjusting any water charges. This again, is owner/tenant responsibility.
Please see our water conservation requirements of irrigating no more than twice per week in the spring/summer and no more than once per week in the fall/winter. Excess watering could result in conservation fines. Visit our Water Conservation page for details on your location’s watering schedule.
Rates, base charges and other service fees are approved by council annually. City of Clermont prides itself on having some of the lowest rates in the area and studies are done to make sure we are charging the minimum amount to maintain the best services for the City.
We have partnered with Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Lake Community Action Agency to accept payments through the Low-Income Housing Water Assistance Program. This is Federal grant money that can be used to assist Florida residents with their utility payments. For more information on qualifications, and to apply call Lake Community Action Agency at (352)434-0554. Don’t wait to apply! Once the program uses all of its funds, they will no longer accept applications.
- Customers are subject to the following fees:
- $5.00 Late Fees
- $30.00 Disconnect/Reconnect Fee
- $30.00 New Account Fee
- $350.00 Meter Tampering Fee (Plus material reimbursements for replacement-at cost)
- $4.57 Certified Mail Fee-if lien notice is sent
- $20.00 Lien Fee
- Base fees for Water and Sewer
- Flat fees for Garbage and Storm water
- 5% Utility Tax
- Irrigation- Mandatory restrictions of 1-2 days per week depending on the season. Visit the Water Conservation page for more details. Check your settings when you move into a new house, often times it is set to water every day. The City is not responsible for water loss due to the customer not knowing what their irrigation is set to.
- Leaks-Although we do our best to help locate customer leaks, this is not a City responsibility or requirement and any lost water due to a leak on the customer side will not be adjusted.
- Customers have a total of 30 days to pay their bill before getting disconnected. Any unpaid balances will result in disconnection and reconnections will happen first come, first serve after payment is verified. If accounts remain unpaid after 1 week of being disconnected, a lien notice will be issued and eventually a lien will be filed with the county. If you are a tenant your deposit will be applied to your account and the account will revert back to the owner’s name, who has the right to disconnect service if they choose. You will need to pay your past due balance plus a new deposit to get service back in your name.
- Any unpaid balances after a customer sells the property or tenant moves out will be final billed. If unpaid, this ending balance will go to collections. If you have a credit on your account, you will be sent a refund check to the mailing address provided when you end service.
- The due date of your most recent bill does not extend the final due date of your past due balance. Past due balances are subject to disconnection if not paid by the final due date.
- The City replaces meters as needed to ensure we are collecting the most accurate usage for your bills. We do not need the customer to be home for this process. We have the ability to take the meter and test it if the customer requests. There is a $25.00 fee for this service if the meter passes the testing parameters.
- If you are vacating your property for more than 30 days, you may want to request we temporarily lock your meter to avoid any leaks that could occur while the house is vacant. During this time, you will not be charged for your water and sewer but will still continue to get half the garbage rate, plus storm water charges. If you have 2 meters, you can choose to keep your irrigation meter on and running but just turn off your house meter. If you opt for this, you will still be responsible for all water and base fees used on irrigation as well. There will be a $30.00 turn on fee for when you return and wish to reconnect your water.
Contact Us
We want customers to be informed and up to date on the policies for utilities. If you have any questions please give us a call, email or visit us in the office.
City of Clermont
Utility Billing Department
1st Floor-City Hall
685 W. Montrose St.
Clermont, FL 34711
(352)241-7320
utilitybillingsupport@clermontfl.org
Hours:
Monday-Friday 8am-5pm (excluding major holidays)
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Utility Billing
Physical Address
685 W Montrose Street
1st Floor
Clermont, FL 34711
Phone: 352-241-7320Fax: 352-241-8454
Hours:
Office Hours:
Monday through Friday
8 am to 5 pmClosed Holidays