The City of Billings will end service for up to 2,000 customers starting next week unless they pay their water bills or establish a payment plan.
The city suspended late fees in 2024 after a software issue led to higher-than-expected charges for residents on the city water system.
City Administrator Chris Kukulski said an independent audit supports staff’s conclusion that the bills are correct.
“They found nothing that the software was doing inaccurately,” he said. “We did find human error issues spread throughout, which again, with 42,000 customers, we see some of those every month.”
In 2024, staff told angry customers the bills appeared inflated because of technical issues with a software transition in June and steps they took to fix it, along with factors like a hot summer and a rate increase that happened around the same time.
Many residents disagree and say their bills are thousands of dollars more than their historical usage. As of Thursday, around 500 people have signed a petition asking for further investigation.
Billings landlord Gary Zacc is one of the petition organizers. He owns property in Billings and says he recently paid the water bill because he couldn’t risk having water shut off to the eight families who live there.
“Basically it’s a standoff,” he said. “What do you do? If you decide not to pay, you get your water shutoff. You have to have water. Water and electricity are necessary for life.”
He and petitioners are asking the city mayor and council for further investigation into the charges, an independent review from a different company and further consideration of their concerns.
