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Dearborn Heights studies Neptune 360 portal to give residents hourly water-usage alerts
Summary
City staff and a Ferguson Waterworks representative demonstrated Neptune 360, a resident-facing water portal. Councilors asked about the roughly $30,000 annual estimate, senior access, compatibility with new meters and BS&A cloud billing, and directed staff to study cost-saving options.
Steve Daniel, sales representative for Ferguson Waterworks, told the Dearborn Heights City Council at a Feb. 24 study session that Neptune 360 can show residents hourly meter reads, allow multiple-account management and send customizable alerts by email or text.
“We have the ability to see down to the hourly on all of the usage for the residents,” Daniel said during a live demonstration of the portal’s dashboard, which displays account numbers, daily averages and selectable graph views.
Council members pressed staff on cost and logistics. Speaker 3 cited a controller estimate of about $30,000 per year; Speaker 1 summarized that as roughly $1.33 per household annually. Staff said the precise contract number was not before the council that night and that the anticipated expense would come from the city’s water fund, built into rates rather than billed directly to individual customers.
Staff argued the portal could reduce customer-service workload and speed problem diagnosis. “With this, we can tell them down to the hour when the water was used,” Speaker 5 said, noting that hourly data would let billing staff identify the day and hour of unusually high usage and help customers arrange repairs sooner.
Officials discussed access concerns for seniors and residents without personal devices. Speaker 4 asked how older residents without computers or smartphones would benefit; staff proposed assistance sessions at the Berwyn and Eaton senior centers and library access, while warning some notification features (texts or push alerts) require a personal device.
Staff also described a potential leak-adjustment policy that would tie eligibility for partial bill relief to portal enrollment and prompt action by residents. As an example, Speaker 5 said the city might consider allowing an adjustment if an enrolled customer shows they addressed a leak quickly; the parameters and any percentage adjustments would require council approval.
On technical compatibility, staff said the city has purchased Neptune software to import meter reads into the BS&A billing system. Single sign-on with BS&A is not currently supported, so residents would log into the portal separately. New meters and the BS&A cloud migration are scheduled for completion in August; staff said the transition will require a week-long billing pause and will enable more frequent billing cycles after rollout.
Several council members raised procurement and vendor-competition questions. Daniel said Ferguson is the sole Neptune distributor in Michigan and that Neptune is a market leader; he also noted third-party portals exist but may be more expensive or have compatibility limits. Councilor Winston and others emphasized the city charter’s bidding requirements and asked staff to confirm whether competitive options or savings could be identified.
By the end of the discussion the council did not vote on a contract. A council member asked the director, controller and Mr. Cooper to investigate potential cost savings and alternatives and report back to the council for a future decision.
The study session proceeded without a formal approval or contract award; staff will return with more detailed cost and procurement information before any purchase.
