THE UNITED STATES Postal Service in Ridgeland and delays by contractors are to blame for some residents not receiving their water bills in December and others receiving them late this year, City Clerk David Overby said.

“The ones who didn’t get their bills have already called, and that’s how we found out about it,” he said. January bills “will show their balance coming forward, and we will work with them on that.”

A news release from Ridgeland Community Affairs Coordinator Sandra Monohan said about 2,000 residents did not receive their December statements “due to an error at the post office.” Public Works Director Mike McCollum said about 7,200 residents are hooked up to the city’s water system.

Overby said the USPS has not offered an explanation.

“We don’t know what happened. We can’t get an answer at the post office.”

Ridgeland Postmaster Patricia Taylor did not return a message seeking comment.

Overby said residential customers also received their January bills about two weeks late after meter readers were slow turning over readings to the city.

“When they are pulling old meters out, they are getting the readings there but they are delayed getting the information to us,” Overby said. “The contractor has been late getting that information to us, so we could not send out bills.”

BADGER AUTOMATIC water meters have been installed in residential areas since August, Overby said, “but the last couple of months the bills have been late because of this.”

The installation is a $2 million project, McCollum said.

The meters relay information to computers in trucks, where workers download the readings and submit them to the city, McCollum said.

“It’s a drive-by system,” he said.

Late fees may also be included on these bills, but residents won’t have to pay them.

“We will work that out so they won’t have to pay a late fee,” Overby said. “Hopefully, in one more month things will be smoothing out.”

Residential customers may call the city’s water department at 601-856-3938 to resolve billing disputes, Monohan said.