King George County Service Authority customers will notice a change on their utility bills beginning in May: the term “debt fee” will be removed and replaced with “base rate,” a move aimed at improving transparency and reducing confusion.

The change follows repeated concerns from customers who assumed the “debt fee” was directly tied to the authority’s outstanding debt. According to General Manager Dan Hamilton, that assumption is incorrect.

“The term ‘debt fee’ is misleading,” Hamilton said. “There is no reference in the regulations to the fee actually being tied to debt. There is no calculation based on debt service. And I think it’s an unfair and unrealistic and not transparent term to call it a debt fee. It creates a lot of bad feelings.”

Hamilton noted that he has never seen another water or wastewater utility use the term. And he believes the proper term for that line item is “base rate.”

To clarify the issue, he pointed to guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which defines a base rate as a fixed charge used to cover a broad range of essential costs. During the meeting, he read from the EPA’s definition, explaining that base rates typically support infrastructure maintenance, repayment of loans and bonds, and operational expenses such as chemicals, energy, and staffing.

Board members agreed that the current label does not accurately reflect how the fee functions. While debt repayment is one component of overall costs, the charge also supports daily operations, repairs, and system upkeep.

The board unanimously approved a motion to update the language in the Service Authority’s regulations. The authority emphasized that the change is purely wording and does not alter the amount customers pay.

There was discussion about this change being one step toward greater billing transparency and future efforts that may include providing more detailed breakdowns showing how customer payments are allocated.