PIKEVILLE, Ky — The City of Pikeville is notifying utility customers that this month’s utility bills will be delayed due to the unexpected and immediate closure of Professional Mail Services — the company that has handled the printing and mailing of the City’s utility bills since 2017.

City staff completed all required billing work and submitted the necessary data on time, in accordance with the city ordinance and the established schedule. However, PMSI abruptly ceased operations and informed the City that they would not fulfill any outstanding jobs, including this month’s bill mailing. This is the first time PMSI has failed to meet its contractual responsibilities to the City.

“This is an unfortunate situation that was completely outside the control of our customers, our utility staff, or the City of Pikeville,” said City Manager Reggie Hickman. “Our staff did everything necessary to ensure timely billing, and it is deeply disappointing that our longtime contractor, without warning, failed to meet their obligations. We’re treating this with a true sense of urgency and exploring every possible option to get this month’s bills out quickly and accurately. We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding as we work through this unexpected challenge.”

The City mails more than 5,000 utility bills each month and is currently exploring all options to issue the current bills, including partnering with a new print-and-mail vendor or completing the mailing process in-house. Long-term solutions are also being evaluated to ensure continuity and reliability going forward.

In the meantime, customers who would like to avoid having two months of charges appear on next month’s bill have other payment options:

• Pay their bill online https://pikevilleky.gov/pay-for/; or
• Contact the Utility Office at (606) 437-5109 to check their current balance and make a payment.

The City will not charge late fees for this month’s bills. Late fees are scheduled to resume after June 25, provided that billing operations return to normal.

The City of Pikeville will continue to keep the public informed as more information becomes available.