BROOKSVILLE — The Hernando County Utilities Department announces the launch of its new online billing and payment service through Invoice Cloud.

This service will offer utility customers greater flexibility to view and pay their water bills online. This new, easy-to-use payment portal provides customers with quick access to their account to view bills, check their balance, make payments and enroll in paperless billing. Customers can access this new portal at www.invoicecloud.com/hernandocounty.

Invoice Cloud provides the highest level of industry standards of security and protection for your financial information. Please note: A convenience fee of $2.75 applies to all credit card transactions and one-time e-check payments. The maximum amount per transaction is $300.

Credit card payments will no longer be accepted by utilities department staff either by phone or in person. Customers do not have to opt-in to Invoice Cloud. The following payment methods will remain available: mailing your payment, dropping your payment in the drive-thru drop box, and utilizing the self-serve kiosk in the HCUD customer service lobby.

Visit www.invoicecloud.com/hernandocounty to create your account today.

Contact the Hernando County Utilities Customer Service Department at 352-754-4037 for questions or assistance with this new service.

County committees have vacancies

BROOKSVILLE — The Hernando County Board of Commissioners is accepting applications from individuals wishing to serve as a member on the county committees listed below. The following positions are currently vacant:

• Board of Construction and Regulation

Two consumer positions

• Fine Arts Council

One position

• Library Advisory Committee

One position

• Affordable Housing Advisory Committee

One citizen who is representative of the banking/mortgage banking industry

One citizen who is actively engaged as a for-profit provider of affordable housing

One citizen who is a real estate professional in connection with affordable housing

One citizen who represents employers within the jurisdiction

One citizen who represents essential services personnel, as defined in the local housing assistance plan (teachers and educators, other school district, community college and university personnel, and others who are employed and earn less than 120% of the area's median income)

All applicants must be residents and registered voters in Hernando County. These are voluntary, nonpaid positions and may be designated as an alternate member position.

Applications are available at the County Administrator's Office, located at 15470 Flight Path Drive, Brooksville, by calling 352-754-4002, or by visiting www.HernandoCounty.us/Committees. Applications must be returned to the County Administrator's Office no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, April 16.

Contact the County Administrator's Office at 352-754-4002 for more information about a specific board or committee.

Code Compliance Month could lighten liens

BROOKSVILLE — The Board of County Commissioners has approved a resolution implementing May as Code Compliance Month. The ordinance is a mechanism to assist Hernando County citizens annually with a financial incentive to bring properties with outstanding liens into compliance.

Citizens who own property that has been liened by the county for a code enforcement violation with the lien established by the Special Master, or if it has been recorded in the official records of Hernando County, may submit an application until May 31 for a reduction and satisfaction of 50% of each qualifying lien (there is no reduction in interest or recording fees).

Separate applications must be submitted for each individual recorded document and a $30 application and handling fee is due with each application when submitted. Payments may be made by VISA, MasterCard, American Express or by mail in the form of a check or money order.

Once the completed application and fee have been received by the Code Enforcement Department, it will be reviewed for compliance of ordinance criteria. If a review results in all application criteria met, the applicant will be notified by regular mail with the date and time it will be presented to the county board for reduction and satisfaction of lien.

The lien reduction application is at https://www.hernandocounty.us/departments/departments-a-e/code-enforcement/reduction-of-lien.

Contact the Code Enforcement Department at 352-754-4056 for more information.

Free landscaping classes offered

The Hernando County Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program offers classes and workshops year-round to help residents learn how to save time, money and water when maintaining their lawns and gardens. Residents are invited to participate in free, online learning through virtual interactive classes for the month of April. These virtual classes will be presented by Florida-Friendly Landscaping Coordinator Lilly Browning.

Videos will be available on the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Facebook and the Hernando County Government YouTube Channel after the class has been recorded.

The class schedule is:

• Home Turf Advantage — Home Lawn Management the Florida-Friendly Way

Wednesday, April 7 at 10 a.m. Are you managing your lawn, or is your lawn managing you? Do you feel like you spend a lot of time, energy and money to have the perfect lawn? In this class, Browning and Dr. William Lester of University of Florida/IFAS at Hernando County will discuss how to have a happy, thriving, diverse lawn area that welcomes pollinators and doesn't rely on chemicals for survival.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://hernandoclerk.zoom.us/j/93352882216.

Meeting ID: 933 5288 2216

Passcode: 784661

• Rotted, Recycled and Resurrected Series Part One — Digging Into Soil Science

Tuesday, April 13 at 10 a.m. Explore the cycle of life in your own backyard. In Part One of this series, Veteran Master Gardener Volunteer Bernie Bathauer will take participants on a subterranean tour of the sandy soil in Central Florida and teach them how it is a good medium for many plants in our area and how we can improve it for our landscape needs.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://hernandoclerk.zoom.us/j/95108946923.

Meeting ID: 951 0894 6923

Passcode: 647027

• Rotted, Recycled and Resurrected Series Part Two — There's a Fungus Among Us

Tuesday, April 20 at 10 a.m. Join University of Florida experts as they discuss common fungi found in our area and their importance to our environment.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://hernandoclerk.zoom.us/j/97291211684.

Meeting ID: 972 9121 1684

Passcode: 754733

• Rotted, Recycled and Resurrected Series Part Three — Beetles and Other Clean-Up Crews

Tuesday, April 27 at 10 a.m. Dr. William Lester will introduce us to those behind-the-scenes workers in our landscape who keep things neat and tidy and recycle waste in an environmentally friendly way.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://hernandoclerk.zoom.us/j/99907348114.

Meeting ID: 999 0734 8114

Passcode: 756441

Live Oak Theatre holds IMPROV Night

BROOKSVILLE — Live Oak Theatre invites the public to another of its popular IMPROV Nights on Friday evening, April 23, at 7:30 p.m. The IMPROV Night will be held at the Carol & Frank Morsani Center for the Arts, 21030 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seats are $10 per person in advance and $15 at the door. Concessions will be available for purchase before the show and during intermission. Seating capacity has been enhanced.

Join us for a night of family friendly unpredictability, laughter, and joy as our Live Oak Conservatory’s Improv Troupe takes the stage to create a show that no one has seen before, nor will anyone ever see again. All games, all skits, all of our actors’ choices will be inspired by you, the public.

Improv, short for improvisation, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation.

For more information and to purchase tickets go to www.LiveOakTheatre.org or call the box office at 352-593-0027 or email LiveOakBoxOffice@gmail.com.

Live Oak Theatre Co. is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) repertory company of local artists existing to enrich families, individuals and the community as a whole by providing positive artistic experiences in the performing arts, including excellent, affordable, and edifying family friendly entertainment, performance, and educational opportunities for theatre patrons and participants of all ages.