Customer Service & Billing

Make a payment through our secure payment processor, PSN

Make a one-time payment or set up Auto-Pay for the amount of your bill or a fixed amount per transaction.

Print PSN payment receipts, view your bills, change how you pay, cancel Auto-Payments and much more in your online account.  There is a third-party convenience fee of 3.00% per transaction plus $0.50 for transactions under $100 for debit and credit cards, and it is FREE for electronic transfers from your checking or savings account.

You can call 1-877-885-7968 to pay with a credit card, debit card or checking/savings account payment. Make sure you have your utility bill to provide your utilities account number and ZIP code. There is a third-party convenience fee of 3.00% per transaction plus $0.50 for transactions under $100 for debit and credit cards, and it is FREE for electronic transfers from your checking or savings account.

Utility payments can also be paid through the Treasurer's Office using their payment options.

Treasurer's Office

You can view your utility bill online, and if you want, you can opt out of paper bills at any time, helping the Utilities reduce costs. Give it a try; you will love the convenience. We will send you an email each time your new bill is ready to view.

Step 1: Register to View your Bills Online (FREE Service)

If you have already registered on PSN to make payments, you are automatically enrolled in eBills. Simply visit PSN and select the View Bills tab. Towards the bottom of the page, check "Yes" and then click Submit to go "paperless" if you would like us to stop sending your paper bills and help save money and resources.

If you have not yet registered for paying online, visit PSN and register. (You do not have to pay online to view your bills online.) Enter your La Crosse Utilities account number (without the dash) and your name (last name is all that is needed). Then at the bottom of the page, click Select. Fill out your profile information. Please consider going "paperless" when asked.

Step 2: Enter Our Email in Your Address Book

To make sure your receive our email notifications, copy and paste the following email into your address book:

• e-statements@PaymentServiceNetwork.com

That's it! With the next billing cycle, we will send you an email letting you know your bill is ready and a link to view your bill. Remember, you can easily make an online payment right from your email notification. 

1. Payments, late fees (typically after the 25th of the month) or any other account adjustments may not update on PSN's "Balance Due" total on the Billing Overview Page for 3-5 business days. If you are paying after the due date, call the Utilities Office to find out how much you need to pay to avoid any further late fees.
2. If you plan to register for Auto-Pay with your utility account, it is recommended to set the scheduled date between the 10th and 20th of the month. If you choose the 1st of the month for example, that date is before the bills are printed, but after the due date, and late fees will be incurred.

The City of La Crosse Utilities billing statements include charges for the La Crosse Sanitary Sewer Utility and the La Crosse Stormwater Utility. The La Crosse Water Utility manages the billing and forwards the collected charges to each utility.

The refuse and recycling collection for the City of La Crosse is included as part of the property taxes and not billed separately. For gas, electric, cable, phone and internet services, customers must contact the local providers.

The La Crosse Water, Sewer and Stormwater Utilities are public utilities that are owned by the Municipality and funded through the income generated from rates for services provided. They do not receive any revenue from the property taxes paid to the municipality for other city services.

Water rates are established by the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin. Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater rates are established by the Common Council. For current rates please visit the Utility Rates & Charges page for more information. These rates are intended to be high enough to provide the utility with a reasonable opportunity to recover the total costs of providing service and to sustain their financial integrity, that in turn provides a dependable and reliable service to the consumer for a fair value.

Water Fixed Service Charge - This is a fixed charge based on the size of the water meter. Service charges are designed to recover the utility's capital and operating costs associated with customer-related expenses, including the installation, repair, maintenance, and reading of water meters; billing, and customer service. Customers are charged this fixed service charge for each meter connected to the water system on their property, even when no water is consumed.

Water Usage Charge - This charge is based on the volume of water used in the billing period. The charge pays for the installation, operation, repair and maintenance of drinking water collection, treatment and distribution facilities including labor, energy and chemicals.

Water rates in La Crosse currently reflect a declining block rate structure in which the charge per quantity of water decreases as water usage increases. Future rate applications to the PSC may result in approval of a flat or inclining block rate structure (the charge per quantity of water increase as water usage increases) to reflect water conservation initiatives in Wisconsin. Currently, La Crosse has an ample supply of water, treatment capacity, and distribution capacity; all water is returned to the source, and construction of additional facilities to meet demand is not necessary.

Water meters measure the usage in units called Ccf. One Ccf of water is 100 cubic feet or 748 gallons . To calculate water usage in gallons, multiply the number of Ccf by 748.

Public Fire Protection Charge - The La Crosse Water Utility directly charges customers for Public Fire Protection (PFP) to recover the costs of water used for fighting fires and the extra capacity built into the system necessary to rapidly deliver a large volume of water to a fire anywhere within the municipality's water service area. These costs include a portion of the wells, pumps, storage facilities, water mains, hydrants and estimated quantity of water used for this purpose.

Private Fire Protection Charge - This charge is for permanent or continuous unmetered connections to the main for the purpose of supplying water to private fire protection systems such as automatic sprinkler systems, standpipes and private fire hydrants.

Sewer Fixed Service Charge - Like Water fixed charges, this fixed charge is also based on the size of the water meter. Service charges are designed to recover the utility's capital and operating costs associated with customer-related expenses, as well as infiltration and inflow related costs.

Sewer Usage Charge - This charge is based on the volume of water used in the billing period that is then discharged into the wastewater system. The charge recovers the cost of Capital and operating costs associated with the installation, operation, repair and maintenance of the sewage distribution, collection and treatment, including labor, energy and chemicals.

The La Crosse Sanitary Sewer Utility uses a flat rate structure; the same rate per Ccf is applied regardless of the amount of water discharged to the sewer.

Summer Sanitary Sewer Usage Credit: Residential customers are charged the lesser of their actual usage versus their winter usage during two quarters of the year.

Stormwater Utility Charges - This is a fixed quarterly charge applied to all developed property and all vacant, improved property, including tax-exempt properties. The charge is based on the amount of hard surface, or impervious surface, of each property. A typical residential property has an average impervious surface area of 2,841 square feet. This measurement is called an Equivalent Runoff Unit (ERU). Each Residential property is charged 1 ERU. The ERU is then used to calculate the charge for non-residential property based on total impervious surface area.