BILLINGS — The City of Billings sent out letters notifying residents with overdue water bills that late fees and water shut offs will begin taking effect again in January.
According to the letter, the city will shut off water for approximately 300 accounts with the largest overdue amount.
Watch this video to hear residents' reactions:
The decision to reinforce late fee penalties comes after 18 months of debate between the city of Billings and many residents claiming they were being overcharged for their water usage.
Billings business owner Michael Uhrich is among those residents frustrated. Uhrich claims that his business, Carter's Brewery in downtown, was overcharged.
"I got bills and then all of the sudden they got exponentially bigger and bigger," Uhrich said. "I don't feel like there's a lot of transparency. I don't feel like it's honest. I can't trust it right now."
The problems began when the city changed its billing software in May of 2024, which caused delays in the billing process. In February, an independent auditing company based in Minnesota called SL Serco found that the city was not at fault.
Despite that, Uhrich has refused to pay his entire bill.
"I'm paying what our average was, with a little bit more in good faith, so I don't go completely delinquent," Uhrich said. "I always try and pay my bills on time and wanted to keep doing that, but if they're not right, I wasn't going to pay them."
Uhrich's bill now sits at more than $5,000 owed. This week, he received a notice from the city in the mail announcing that late fees would be enforced and that shut-offs will start on Jan. 12.
Uhrich said he fears what a shut-off could mean for his business.
"Disbelief. I was like, 'This isn't really happening,'" Uhrich said. "It's going to be really hard to make beer without water. Beer is 90 percent water, and we use it for making beer, cleaning, restrooms and the building. I mean, we'd have to officially close."
The city has been notifying residents about this potential decision for months. In September, the city announced it would give customers a grace period to get caught up, with late fees starting to take effect in December.
The city also confirmed that if customers establish a 12-month payment plan with the Public Works Department, then their service will not be at risk of being shut off.
Still, other property owners like Ed Johnston are upset.
"It's an unbelievable level of frustration," Johnston said on a web interview Tuesday morning.
Johnston, who lives in the northeast, has property on Billings West End. He's been seeking legal action regarding the water bill dispute, with nearly 70 people also participating.
Johnston said that he's paying his bill now that shut-offs have been warned, but he isn't stopping his fight.
“I’m paying the bill to stop any interest charges, but I’m not letting go," Johnston said. "We’re going to sit down hopefully in the next week or two to find out what options are available to us."
City Administrator Chris Kukulski confirmed on Monday that there are 5,894 delinquent accounts, totaling nearly $3.5 million owed. Half of those are in the criteria of being shut off, which will start with the 300 largest balances on Jan. 12.
It's an unsettling scenario for Uhrich, who after 19 years in business, has questions about his brewery's future.
"I mean, we'd send as much as we could," Uhrich said of what his response would be to having his service shut off. "But if it's not right, it's not right. We live on principle."
