Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

San Diego utilities report sharply lower call wait times and held‑bill backlogs

San Diego City Council · May 12, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The Public Utilities Department told the City Council on May 12 that call wait times have fallen sharply and the held‑bill backlog has been reduced dramatically after technology and staffing changes; staff outlined next steps including a delinquency program to comply with Senate Bill 998.

The San Diego Public Utilities Department told the City Council May 12 that a year of technology upgrades and staffing changes has substantially improved customer service metrics.

Lisa Slaya, executive assistant director of the Public Utilities Department, and Michelle Costello, deputy director for customer support, said the department now handles roughly 85,000 calls a year, about 40,000 web forms and 31,000 emails, and processes about 2,000,000 bills and $384,000,000 in payments annually. Costello said the department reduced the average speed of answer by roughly 92% over the past year and that…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans