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Hastings Utilities to switch billing platform in June; postings will end and budget‑billing process adjusted
Summary
City staff said May 8 that Hastings Utilities will migrate to a new customer billing system in June. The change ends printed shutoff postings that were delivered a day before disconnection, pauses credit‑card payments during the migration window, and includes modest changes to the utility’s voluntary budget‑billing program.
Carl (administration) briefed the Hastings Utilities Board on May 8 on an upcoming migration to a new customer billing system and related changes to customer communications and budget billing.
Carl said the last day the utility will issue physical shutoff postings will be in May; starting in June the new system will increase the utility’s ability to communicate with customers by phone, email and an online portal. To prepare, staff have updated contact information, notified service agencies, and provided outreach through media partners. Carl told the board that customers who have recently received postings were also told the printed postings would cease and were given written reminders.
On budget billing, Carl said the voluntary program currently serves just over 1,000 customers and helps smooth seasonal bills. Under the migration and new process, customers with large credit balances or large amounts owed can request refunds or have their budget amounts recalculated; Carl stressed customers can contact the utility to discuss options. He also said the migration requires a short system downtime: city staff will stop entering transactions in the old system the last Wednesday in May to export and import data, a process expected to take roughly a week. During that period credit‑card payments will not be available and some bill cycles may have one or two billing‑day differences (May bills slightly shortened, June bills slightly lengthened) while the new system reconciles and backlogged items are processed.
Board members thanked Carl and communications staff for outreach to customers and to local service agencies. Derek said the administration’s efforts have helped reduce cutoffs in recent years and asked staff to continue working with nonprofits that assist customers.
Separately, the board approved by motion a schedule change to the advisory board calendar: the June meeting was moved to June 19 and the July meeting to July 24 so staff could align budget review meetings with city council timelines. The motion passed on a roll call vote: Heitzman — yes; Himji — yes; Nieske — yes; Kohl — yes. The mover and seconder were not clearly identified in the available transcript and are recorded here as board members who made and seconded the motion.
