Hawthorne City Hall opening Friday to negotiate past due utility payments

Jun 18, 2020 10:45 am

As a one time courtesy, City Hall will be open on Friday, June 19 from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to collect payments from customers whose water was turned off for non-payment. You may pay online at www.cityofhawthorne.net or use the drive thru window. The lobby will be closed.

According to statement issued from Hawthorne Mayor Matt Surrency, “The City of Hawthorne for the past 3 months has not made any cutoffs. We have offered to setup payment plans and only required customers to communicate their circumstances privately with management so we can plan accordingly. The majority of customers have either paid their bills or have set up a plan with management.

“We have a few bad actors that are consistent delinquent accounts even prior to this pandemic. We do not expect customers to be able to pay their entire 3-4 month past due bill. However, we do expect our customers to call and setup a plan to make progress on their accounts. Staff has made regular attempts to contact these customers to setup a plan with little to no avail with the remaining customers.

“We have and will continue to work with customers who communicate with staff to setup a plan to make progress on their accounts. Staff has offered to come in on Friday (usually closed) to help those that need an extra day for payment. I am always available if you have any trouble as well. Thank you to the staff, commission and community for reaching out to our neighbors regularly during their time of need.”