FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS IN BILLING & COLLECTIONS

Q. Where are the Billing and Collections offices located?

A. The offices are located at 76 North Center Street in downtown Hickory on the
second floor of the Julian G. Whitener Municipal Building.

Q. How do I activate water and sewer service?

A. A complete street address will be required to activate service.

RENTERS – Must apply in person at the Collections Division at City Hall. A lease agreement signed by landlord and tenant is required. The lease must specify the property address, effective dates of occupancy, and signatures of both landlord and tenant. A completed application for service must be completed and signed by tenant. The tenant must provide valid photo ID and social security number. A water deposit will also be required.

OWNERS – Homeowners may apply for service by telephone or in person. The owner must provide Driver’s License or ID number and social security number for identification purposes.

Service will be connected on the next business day.

Q. When will I receive a bill?

A. The City of Hickory bills on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th of each month. Each billing cycle is divided in routes for meter reading and billing purposes. The area or route in which you live determines your billing date. We are unable to change your billing date.

It is the customer’s responsibility to contact the City of Hickory in the event that they do not receive a bill within 45 to 60 days of initiating service, or within 35 days of their previous bill.

Q. When is my bill due?

A. Bills are due within 10 days of the bill date.

Q. Where do I pay my bill?

A. Payments are accepted on our website www.hickorygov.com/egov/utilityhelp.html.
The Collections counter located inside City Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:00pm.

A drive up window is located behind the building and is open from 9:30am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 4:30pm. For added convenience, a drop box is located at the drive up window.

The City of Hickory accepts cash, check, money order, bank ACH draft, and Visa/MasterCard for utility bills.

Q. Does the City offer Bank Drafting services?

A. The City offers automatic bank drafting from checking or savings accounts. A bank draft authorization form needs to be completed and signed. A “void” check is required for drafts from a checking account, and a “void” savings deposit/withdrawal slip for savings accounts.

Q. When is my bill past due?

A. Water and sewer bills not paid prior to next scheduled billing date are considered delinquent. A cut off notice will appear on the bill if the account is 30 days past due. No second notices will be given.

If payment is not received by the cutoff date noted on the bill, a late fee will be added to the account and the service will be disconnected.

Q. How do I get my service reconnected when it is cut off for non payment?

A. To restore service cut off for non payment, the full balance due on the account, a late fee, and a refundable water deposit are required.

Service will be restored the same day payment is received.

Q. How is my monthly water and sewer bill determined?

A. All active accounts are billed a base bill each month. The amount is based on services received (water, sewer, solid waste fee, and lawn sprinkler) and meter size. The meter is read monthly and consumption is calculated based on current fee schedule rates.

Q. What is the Solid Waste Fee?

A. All inside City residents are billed a Solid Waste Fee each month for garbage
pickup and recycling. The fee covers all the costs for Hickory’s recycling program which includes curbside collection, multi-family bins, business pickups, yard waste collection, leaf collection, and the disposal of white goods (large appliances). The solid waste fee is also used to cover the cost of dumping Hickory’s solid waste at Catawba County’s landfill.

Q. What is the Debt Service Fee?

A. This fee is collected from residents of Alexander County by the City of Hickory. The charge is included as a part of the amount billed for water. These monies are returned to Alexander County to repay the debt incurred with waterline construction.

Contact Alexander County Administrative Offices at (828) 632-1000 for additional information.

Q. How do I terminate my utility service?

A. An account will remain active and billed monthly base charges until a properly completed Application for Termination or Transfer of Service is accepted by a Customer Service Representative. A copy of this form is available on our website or at the Collections counter. A final bill will be mailed to the forwarding address noted on the form one month after termination date.

Q. If I have an after hours utility emergency, who do I call?

A. Contact the Hickory Police Department at (828) 324-2060 for all after hours utility emergencies. The Police Department will dispatch on-call Public Services employees to cut water off due to broken lines or other water leaks.

Q. How do I get a garbage and recycling container?

A. Both garbage and recycling containers are provided to customers within the City of Hickory. If the containers are not available at your new address, contact the Sanitation Division at (828) 323-7500 to make arrangements for delivery of the containers.

Q. Do I need a Privilege License?

A. Any business that operates or conducts business activity within Hickory City limits is required to obtain a Privilege License. This business activity consists of maintaining a business location within City limits, either personally or through agents, soliciting business within the City limits, or pick up and/or delivering goods or services within the City limits.

The license must be purchased prior to any business operations within City limits.

Q. How do I apply for a Privilege License?

A. Applications are available on the City’s website www.hickorygov.com or at the Collections counter at City Hall. A fully completed and signed application is required each year to process the Privilege License. A fee schedule is also available to calculate the amount due for the business. Please contact the Collections Division at (828) 323-7424 for any questions regarding fees and calculation.

A company or individual engaged in multiple activities will be required to license each activity. Businesses with multiple locations in Hickory are required to obtain a license for each location.