Pataskala staff field resident concern after payments consolidated into InvoiceCloud; few complaints so far

Pataskala City utility staff told the committee that the billing office consolidated payment methods to a single platform (InvoiceCloud) to streamline reconciliation and bookkeeping and that, since the change, staff have received one formal complaint from a resident concerned about sharing banking information and losing a preferred payment option.

Staff said the change eliminated several less-used payment channels to accelerate transactional reconciliation; however, staff emphasized that customers still have multiple ways to pay including automated withdrawals, online credit-card payments, mailed checks, an overnight dropbox and in-person cash or check. The resident’s primary concern, staff said, was discomfort with electronic withdrawals and limited time to mail or hand-deliver a check; staff said the resident had since switched payment methods but asked for a broader survey of resident preferences.

Committee members asked staff to recontact the resident to confirm whether the new arrangement is acceptable. Staff said they will contact the billing manager to gather usage percentages for checks versus online payments and report that information back to the committee. No changes to the payment platform were proposed at the meeting; staff said the committee can decide to restore legacy channels if a larger number of customers request it.

Staff framed the consolidation as a bookkeeping efficiency: fewer payment options reduce delays in posting and reduce work to close the books and perform meter reads and shutoffs on schedule. The committee requested a follow-up with customer-use statistics and the resident’s feedback before considering any policy change.