About 800 Granite City homeowners who are behind on their sewer bills now have a chance to pay only what they owe, without most of the penalties the city has been adding.

A measure approved by the Granite City Council on Feb. 7, declared an amnesty on payment of the late fees from Wednesday, Feb. 15, through March 30. The late fees will be forgiven if people pay off the whole bill, plus a 9 percent penalty. People would have to pay any costs for filing liens on property and court or legal fees the city paid to collect the back bill.

But it's much less than the fees that have been mounting on those customers. City treasurer Gail Valle said her office is sending out letters to more than 800 delinquent accounts that owe about $800,000. Of those, about $377,000 are actual bills, late fees amount to about $407,000 and legal costs add up to about $16,000.

The penalties are growing faster than the payments, Mayor Ed Hagnauer said. "Right now, people are to a point where they can't catch up," he said.

A basic sewer bill is $12.85 a month. The monthly penalty on delinquent bills from before October 2011 is 2 percent. The monthly penalty on balances after October 2011 is 1 percent.

Contact reporter Jim Merkel at 618-344-0264, ext. 138