Utilities office outlines text‑to‑pay, Notify system and meter projects; modest rate increases noted

City utility staff updated the commission on billing, customer service and infrastructure work, including a new automated notification system and progress on meter projects.

A utility representative (speaker 10) told the commission the city will begin mailing red‑tag notices instead of door drops and has rolled out text‑to‑pay and text notifications for outages and route changes. He said water bills increased about 3% in September and sewer rose 5% in July. The office is recruiting a customer‑service/collections worker to handle billing discrepancies and to improve responsiveness.

Utility staff also described Notify, an automated system that sends texts, calls or emails to customers in affected areas for electrical outages, water outages or trash‑route changes. Staff said the city is collecting customers’ phone numbers through billing and outreach and will encourage sign‑up via QR code and social media.

On infrastructure, staff reported roughly 30 active leaks being addressed by dedicated crews and said AMI/AMI meter projects are progressing toward bid stages. Wastewater design work and request‑for‑proposal planning are underway; crews continue to flush lines as needed to maintain system performance.

Officials acknowledged occasional billing system issues — one recent vendor error produced multiple charges that were later refunded — and said a new customer‑service hire will help resolve meter reading and billing anomalies before they generate large bills.

The commission heard no formal motions tied to these items; staff said they will return with further updates and timelines as projects move to bid and implementation stages.