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Customer service reports growth in billing volume; city considering rate study and options for merchant fees
Summary
Customer service staff said the utility billing operation sent more than 24,000 bills in June, manages stormwater direct owner billing, and is expanding cellular meter reads; staff also flagged rising merchant/credit‑card fees and a utility rate study planned for later in the year.
Customer service manager Brandy Weaver told the commission the utility billing group is handling growing volume and that staff will pursue a comprehensive utility rate study later in the fiscal year. “We sent out over 24,000 bills in June,” Weaver said during the Department presentations.
The presentation highlighted several operational items:
- Billing and stormwater: The department issues stormwater bills directly to owners when properties have tenants (about 3,000 stormwater bills annually). Weaver said the department processed more than 200 account adjustments so far in the fiscal year for leaks, pool fills and one‑time errors.
- Metering and remote reads: The city currently has 354 cellular (remote‑reading) meters that allow staff to pull data logs without site visits. Weaver said the city is assessing further roll‑outs but noted the cost of expansion.
- Rate studies: Staff said a stormwater rate study is underway and a broader water/sewer/reclaim/irrigation rate study will start later this year. Weaver noted that the current budget includes the last year of a prior rate adjustment package (the four‑and‑a‑half percent and 4% sewer allocations). The new study is budgeted as an operating expense.
- Merchant and credit‑card fees: Commissioners and staff discussed rising bank and merchant fees for credit‑card transactions and counter payments. Weaver said the city has absorbed those fees but acknowledged options exist — including passing surcharges to customers — and that the commission could consider policy choices during the rate‑study process.
Ending
Weaver said staff will return with more detail during the upcoming rate‑study process and that the department is continuing meter data collection, promo/career progressions and a modest capital request to reconfigure the call‑center layout for improved customer service and acoustics.
