City utility bills may be delayed due to the weather in Texas.

The city utility bills are printed and mailed by a company called DataProse located in Coppell, Texas.

“While power outages have been occurring in Texas, DataProse has been able to maintain operations and keep current with bill printing and mailing,” according to the city, but on Feb. 17, the USPS notified the city that their facility in Coppell was without power and unable to process mail that day. They began operations again the next day.

The delay applies to customers whose bills are generated the third Wednesday of the month. The city cannot change the due date on the bill but will not apply penalties for late payments.

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“If your March bill generates before your February bill is paid, the bill will show that your account is delinquent. Again, this is not something we are able to change,” according to the city.

To check your account balance, please contact Utilities Customer Service at (406) 727-7660. Due to higher than normal call volume, you may not get a live clerk. If this happens, leave a voicemail. It may take staff up to 48 hours to return calls. Account balances may also be found on the city’s Citizen Self Service portal. Customers will need to register and link their account by entering their account number or customer ID number found on a previous billing statement.

The city approved the contract with DataProse in December 2018 and the contract was estimated to save the city about $23,000 annually due to the lower processing fees and eliminating the need to purchase custom envelopes.

The city had contracted with Innovative Postal Services, Inc., IPS, since June 2009 for utility bill printing and mailing, but “throughout the years, there have been issues with statements not being printed and mailed within 24 hours pursuant to the terms of the contract. The city has also been disappointed in the statement presentation and has received public complaints about the unprofessional look of the statements,” according to the 2018 city staff report.

The city received 12 proposals and DataProse was the lowest bid.