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Springfield highlights $1.2 million SpryPoint billing system and customer portal
Summary
City staff demonstrated the new SpryPoint utility-billing platform and customer portal, saying the system replaces a 1990s text-based environment, cuts manual work and posts payments immediately. The implementation and five-year service were presented as a $1.2 million investment.
City finance and utility staff on Tuesday walked the Springfield City Commission through the city’s switch from a decades-old, menu-driven utility-billing system to SpryPoint, a web-based platform staff said will reduce manual processing, improve reporting and give residents a customer portal to view and pay bills.
“We issued an RFP, received nine proposals, and SpryPoint was selected as the lowest and best proposal,” Utility Revenue and Income Tax Administrator Brandy Buck told commissioners during a work session presentation. Buck said, “The cost for implementation and the first five years of service is $1.2 million.”
Buck told the commission that the legacy system, in place since the 1990s, relied on keyboard navigation and memorized function keys and required significant manual file uploads and staff intervention to generate statements. She described three SpryPoint modules the city will use: SpryCIS for core billing and account management, SpryMobile to support mobile field operations and an interactive map for technicians, and Spre Engage, the customer portal and online bill-pay interface.
Senior billing specialist Kevin Walters demonstrated a test environment of the portal, showing customers options to look up accounts, make one-time payments or register for a login that enables linked accounts, bill forecasting alerts, auto-pay enrollment and paperless billing. Walters showed how payments post immediately to accounts under the new integration, compared with three to five business days under the prior payment system.
The commission’s agenda also included a change order related to the SpryPoint contract. The item listed a decrease of $12,975.10 for the contract, with a new total “not to exceed $1,207,298.61,” which staff said reflected fewer on-site visits than originally quoted.
Commissioners thanked staff for the demonstration and noted the value of increased transparency for customers. The work session portion concluded with a motion to adjourn and a roll-call vote to close that portion of the meeting.
The city manager’s office and finance staff told the commission the implementation involved multiple departments and the vendor’s implementation team. Staff said SpryPoint updates will be delivered over time and that the portal includes an optional guided tour for first-time users. The city encourages residents who need help to call the service center for assistance.
