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Grand Prairie to launch new utility customer portal June 16; donation feature added for local charities
Summary
City staff demonstrated a new utility customer portal set to go live June 16 that will let customers view bills, make one‑time payments without logging in, enroll in paperless billing and donate to city‑administered charity programs including Grand Prairie United Charities and Playground Adventures.
City staff demonstrated the new Grand Prairie utility customer portal at the May 6 council meeting and said the launch date is scheduled for June 16.
The portal demonstration, introduced by a staff presenter and led by Tanya Woody, the superintendent of Utility Customer Service and project manager for the implementation, showed account summary pages, one‑time payments, autopay enrollment, paperless billing and a built‑in donations feature.
"The current go live date is scheduled for June 16," a staff presenter said. Woody walked council members through navigation and confirmed how customers who do not want to create logins can still use the site: "You do not have to have the login," she said, describing the "pay my bill" one‑time payment option that requires an account number and ZIP code.
Woody said the portal will let customers manage multiple accounts from a single login, enroll in autopay and paperless billing, and submit service orders online. She said standard turnaround time for move‑in service requests is currently "48 hours, up to 48 hours," but staff hope the new system will shorten that timeframe and possibly allow same‑day service in emergencies.
The portal includes a donations function that can add recurring or one‑time contributions to a customer's water bill. Woody described two initial donation recipients shown in the demo: Playground Adventures and Grand Prairie United Charities. "The Grand Prairie United Charities program is it's actually a city program that Grand Prairie United Charities administers to help with people who can't afford to pay their water bill," she said.
A council member asked who decides how Playground Adventures funds are used; a presenter who said they serve on that board replied, "The board of directors, which is me and Ray. So And and 2 other people." Woody said the portal will allow the city to create and manage donation campaigns centrally and to add confirmed donations to customer statements.
Council members and residents asked clarifying questions about accessibility and functionality. One resident asked whether older customers who forget passwords could still make payments; Woody reiterated the availability of the one‑time payment option without a login. Council members also asked whether the portal has a native phone app; Woody said the rollout is web‑based and "there's no app on the phone" at launch.
Staff did not request new funding in this presentation; the council heard the demonstration and next steps for the June go‑live date.
