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Billing vendor shutdown leaves utility bills delayed; county arranges interim printing and starts procurement for long‑term fix
Summary
Pender County Utilities reported that its third‑party mail vendor ceased operations without prior notice, delaying mailed utility bills; staff secured alternate printing of May bills, will not pursue scheduled disconnects this month, and will issue an RFP for countywide mailing services while exploring electronic billing.
Pender County officials told commissioners on May 19 that a third‑party vendor that prepared and mailed the county’s utility bills — Professional Mail Services Inc. (PMSI) — abruptly ceased operations, causing a temporary service disruption for the county’s monthly bill mailings. County staff said they secured an interim solution and are pursuing a longer‑term contract to avoid future interruptions.
What happened and immediate fix - The county’s customer services manager, Jackie Eason, exported billing files to PMSI on April 30 for May mailings. On the morning of May 12 staff began receiving customer calls reporting they had not received bills. - Staff learned PMSI had ceased operations the prior Friday and that the vendor’s assets and data had been referenced to a different out‑of‑state firm. Staff were unable to get a timely contract agreement with that firm. - The county used an existing contract vehicle with another vendor, OSG (Outsourced Services Group), to print and mail the May 2025 bills. County staff said the May bills were printed and sent late the prior week; customers should receive mailed bills shortly after the meeting.
Customer impacts and county response - County officials said payment channels remained available (online, phone, in person) during the interruption. The county paused planned service disconnects for nonpayment for the month while staff sorted late billing and waived or assessed late penalties judiciously. - Staff reported the problem affected multiple organizations in the state besides Pender County (state offices and municipal clients were also impacted when PMSI closed).
Longer‑term options under consideration - Utilities director Mr. Colon said the county will issue an RFP for a countywide mailing services contract to include utilities and other departments that rely on third‑party mail services. - County staff are also working with IT to better leverage the Tyler Munis billing system and to generate PDFs that can be used by a print vendor as a redundancy; staff said moving some customers to electronic (paperless) billing is also part of the plan but requires Munis configuration. - County staff estimated current annual third‑party mailing costs at about $125,000 per year (printing, mail merge, printing, postage). An in‑house mailing solution would require investment in specialized equipment and at least two staff members to ensure continuity, staff said.
Board direction and next steps - Commissioners asked staff to make continuity and notification clauses part of future vendor contracts (for example, requiring advance notice if a vendor intends to cease operations). - Staff said they will complete procurement for a longer‑term contract, continue to coordinate with IT for an electronic/PDF fallback, and report back to the board on RFP outcomes and any changes in monthly operations.
Voices from the meeting - Brian Terry, water and sewer superintendent: "We successfully printed the May bills this past Friday so customers should start seeing their bills in the mail…" (paraphrase of presentation). - Utilities director (Mr. Colon) said the county will examine in‑house versus third‑party solutions and pursue redundancy in the billing process.
Additional action - The board voted to open all water and sewer districts at the meeting in order to continue normal utility business operations while the billing issue is resolved.
