City Charges

Utility (Water & Sewer) Billing

All water and sewer accounts in the City of Portage are billed on a quarterly basis. Billing quarters vary depending on the location of the service address. To determine when you will receive billing statements, please view the utility billing map to the right. Payments for all charges are due approximately 29 days after the billing date. Payments are considered timely if received in the Treasury Office, dated electronically, or postmarked by the US Postmaster on or before the due date (postage-metered dates are not accepted). Payments not received timely are subject to a 10% late fee, established by City Ordinance. Approximately 25 days after the due date, services with unpaid balances greater than $60 will be shut off and will remain so until the bill is paid in full along with a non-refundable processing fee. By the time the service is shut off for non-payment three statements have been issued to the customer.  Failure to receive any of these notices does not relieve the customer of the responsibility for paying the bill or related fees and charges.

Sewer Usage Cap

For residential customers only, a sewer cap that limits the amount billed for sewer will be in place for three quarters of the year. The sewer cap is calculated based on the water usage for the quarterly bill that contains the month of January (winter quarter). On each residential account, the usage of the winter quarter is multiplied by 125% to determine the sewer usage cap for the other three quarters of the year. During the winter quarter, the sewer consumption charged is the same as the water consumption. If a customer has no winter quarter consumption, the sewer cap will be set at 15,000 gallons.

Building and Zoning Permits

Permits are required for construction activities on properties within the city.  Visit the Department of Community Development Permits page for more information. The Portage Treasury Office collects permit fees charged by the Department of Community Development.

Property Taxes

Property taxes paid to the City of Portage pay for essential public services such as police and fire protection and also fund city parks, curbside recycling and other curbside collection programs, street maintenance, and snow removal, environmental programs, senior and community activities, and human service programs. Summer taxes are payable from August 1 to September 14, and winter taxes are payable from December 1 to February 14.  Original tax statements are mailed to the owner of record at the time the bills are generated. If a mortgage company or an escrow agent requests a copy of the taxes, listings are sent once the original statements are mailed to the owners. Michigan State Law requires the City of Portage to serve as the collecting agency for all units that levy taxes within the city. In addition to city taxes, your tax bill includes monies for Kalamazoo County, the public school systems (Portage, Comstock, Vicksburg, and Schoolcraft), Kalamazoo Regional Educational ServicesAgency (KRESA), Kalamazoo Valley CommunityCollege (KVCC), and the Portage District Library. The city distributes the majority of the tax dollars collected to these entities. See the Understanding Property Taxes and Special Assessments Brochure to the right.

Special Assessments

The Treasury Office distributes billings in July each year for parcels affected by special assessments for water, sewer, and city street improvements. These billings carry an August 31 due date and represent the annual installment of the multi-year special assessment obligation. See the Understanding Property Taxes and Special Assessments Brochure to the right.

Miscellaneous Receivables

The Treasury Office collects monies for charges initiated by other departments, such as:

  • False Alarms and Emergency Response Charges Initiated by the Police and Fire Departments
  • Records (Freedom of Information Act) Fees
  • Parks and Recreation Charges and Fees
  • Retiree Health Billings
  • Senior Center Charges