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Killeen approves contract to outsource utility bill printing and mailing amid public data-security concerns
Summary
City council approved an annual contract with Infosend Inc. to handle utility bill printing and mailing, a measure staff said will reduce operations burden and modernize bills. Some residents warned of data risks and higher long-term costs; staff said mailings will be handled regionally and data transfers will be secure.
Killeen’s City Council approved, as part of a unanimous consent agenda, a contract awarding RFP 25-37 for utility bill printing and mailing services to Infosend Inc., an outsourcing arrangement city staff said will modernize bills and free utility-collection staff to focus on customer service.
City staff described the contract as an annual expenditure of about $479,016 and said a preliminary comparison shows roughly $7,000 in annual cost savings versus doing all printing and mailing in-house. Staff told the council the vendor was selected after nine responses to the RFP and interviews with the top three finalists.
During public comment, Michael Fanino said outsourcing billing to an out-of-state company risked data security and mail delays and questioned staff accountability, saying, “This is just another excuse for the city manager and staff … to farm this out to somebody else.” Melissa Brown urged caution on outsourcing costs, saying the city would not realize the $70,000 savings claimed and instead could add about $25,512 a year onto bills.
City staff responded at the meeting and said mailed paper bills would not be sent from California but handled through a regional office based in Fort Worth. "The actual billing will not come from California," a City staff representative told the council, saying the city would transmit customer data files to the vendor via a secure site and that the payment process for customers would not change.
Staff said implementation would take about 10–12 weeks and that the city would notify residents in advance, provide inserts to explain the new bill format and move to encourage greater use of electronic billing. The presentation noted the city presently serves roughly 55,000 water utility customers and manages large monthly printing volumes.
The contract recommendation was included in the consent agenda the council approved 5–0. The agenda item record identifies Infosend Inc. as the recommended vendor and lists the annual contract amount as $479,016.
