This winter, when town staff were trying to put together a budget for the current fiscal year, Apex was $6 million in the hole in utility balances.
A cyberattack in the summer of 2024 meant that the town had had to reconfigure its billing systems, and customers were receiving combined two- and three-month utility bills, which, along with annual rate increases, caused confusion over higher payments. The town had paused late fee collections and service disconnections, but the situation was becoming untenable: about 15% of customers had foregone paying their bills entirely. The financial stability of Apex’s electric utilities was compromised, and the town’s credit rating was threatened.
“There is concern that if we don’t soon make it clear we do intend to collect on unpaid balances, one could argue we would be in violation of the covenants on some utility bonds we’ve borrowed,” wrote Mayor Pro Tem Terry Mahaffey in a February 26 email to constituents. “Meaning the bondholders could demand immediate payment in full. Which would be ruinous.”…