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Zephyrhills moves utility billing to Tyler Technologies and will pass credit‑card convenience fees to customers
Summary
Council authorized consolidating utility billing into Tyler Technologies to replace multiple vendors and approved recovering credit‑card processing fees from customers (proposed 3% or $2.50 minimum), with a staged migration and customer notifications planned.
Council on April 27 authorized staff to consolidate utility‑billing and payment systems into Tyler Technologies, replacing separate vendors (WaterSmart and Payment) and integrating billing, irrigation data and a customer portal.
Finance Director Ted Bon said the move will reduce manual data transfers, give customers clearer visibility into delinquent and disconnect fees, and streamline disconnect and cash‑reconciliation processes. Bon explained that roughly half of monthly transactions are debit or credit card payments and that the city currently absorbs processing fees. Under the new approach, council directed staff to recover credit‑card convenience fees from customers (a proposed structure: about 3% of the transaction or a $2.50 minimum), while encouraging customers to use lower‑cost routing/account payments.
Council voted to authorize the city manager to execute agreements for Tyler modules (payment processing, utility access/portal and reclaimed‑water integrations) and to pass through credit‑card fees. Staff will stage the migration to avoid service interruptions, re‑establish autopay signups for customers who used prior vendor auto‑draft, and time the change with the end of existing contracts later in the year.
Ted Bon said staff will notify customers and include outreach to help customers switch to lower‑cost ACH/bank account payments if they prefer to avoid convenience fees.
