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Snoqualmie warns utility customers to re-enter payment info after processor change; small tax-credit to appear on April bills
Summary
City staff said a required vendor-driven switch to Springbrook’s payment processor will force customers to re-enter saved billing data and re-enroll in autopay in early May. Staff also announced an April credit after an inadvertent tax-rate change that affected more than 4,000 accounts, generally by less than $1.
Snoqualmie finance staff told the Finance & Administration Committee on March 24 that a vendor-required change to the city’s utility payment processor will require affected customers to delete saved payment information, re-enter it and re-enroll in autopay after the switch in early May.
The change is being driven by Springbrook, the city’s utility-billing platform, not by an individual city policy decision, Jana Walker, the city’s budget manager, told the committee. “This is not something that the City of Snoqualmie elected to do, but we are essentially required to do it by Springbrook,” Walker said. She said the city will send communications with April bills and use mailed letters, the city portal and social channels to reach customers.
Walker also said the city will process a small credit on April utility bills after staff discovered that a tax-rate field had been changed in error from the correct 9% to 9.1%. Walker said the credit will affect more than 4,000 accounts but “it will be less than a dollar” for the majority of customers.
Why it matters: The processor change will interrupt saved payment profiles and autopay enrollments temporarily. The city said it expects to provide multiple notices and a grace period so customers are not assessed late fees while they reestablish payment settings.
Details and next steps: Walker said the payment-processor change should occur in early May and that the finance team will include instructions in April billing materials. The city will mail letters, post to the customer portal, publish on social media and notify the ROA to reach as many customers as possible. She said there will be an initial processing pass in May and a further grace month for targeted follow-up before late fees could be applied. Walker added the city will aim to provide customer support for the transition.
No formal council vote was recorded in committee on the processor change; staff presented it as an operational notice and a forthcoming customer-communications plan. The planned April credit will be processed administratively by the finance department.
Context: Springbrook has been the city’s utility-billing platform; Walker said the city is also migrating financial data from Springbrook into the enterprise ERP (Munis/Tyler) as part of the city’s broader financial-system transition.
