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City staff say revised ERU billing fixed commercial invoicing inconsistencies
Summary
Clive staff described a year-long effort to recalculate commercial ERUs by parcel (PIN) and feed corrected data into the utility-billing system; the change did not reduce costs but reduced billing errors and improved customer clarity.
Corey Phillips, who led the project, told the council the city stopped splitting a parcel’s calculated ERU across multiple water meters and instead recalculated ERUs using parcel tax PINs and a new policy table. "No. But it saved us the embarrassment of billing incorrectly," Phillips said of the reform, summarizing that the new system produces consistent ERU charges and a cleaner owner set for billing.
Staff reported the utility-billing (UB) division implemented the corrections last June, created an owner set of about 400 commercial customers, and adjusted the billing software based on customer feedback (added parcel location/address on bills). Council members praised the efficiency gains and asked whether commercial property owners had commented; staff said large multi-parcel owners asked for address clarity, which staff added before the second billing cycle.
City staff emphasized there was no net financial savings yet, but the change reduces billing mistakes, creates a repeatable update path via the GIS connection when parcels sell or permits change, and improves customer trust. The council had no further action; this was an informational presentation.
