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City staff propose $1-per-service credit to encourage autopay and paperless utility billing
Summary
Stayton finance staff proposed a voluntary incentive—$1 per month for paperless billing and $1 per month for autopay—to encourage uptake, citing postage and staff time savings; council provided feedback and staff will monitor engagement before implementing.
Finance Director James Brand presented a voluntary incentive plan to encourage residents to enroll in autopay and paperless billing. Brand said less than 25% of customers currently receive paperless statements or use autopay and that the city pays mailing costs and processes handwritten checks that are time-consuming. He proposed a $1 monthly credit for paperless enrollment and an additional $1 monthly credit for autopay enrollment, noting other cities had higher incentives but he recommended starting small.
Councilors asked whether the city would discontinue door hanger or paper notifications for past-due accounts; Brand and staff said the door-hanger process —which is code-driven—would remain in place and that the program would be strictly voluntary, with paper statements remaining the default. Councilors asked about including bill inserts digitally for paperless customers and whether the system can track open rates; staff said the e-newsletter system provides open-rate metrics but the billing system may not.
Councilors generally expressed support for the concept while cautioning about losing a tactile reminder for some residents who rely on paper notices; staff said they will not remove current notification practices and will monitor the program’s uptake and fiscal impact before expanding credits.
