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Kyle expands options to fund utility-assistance pilot: voluntary donations and bill rounding advanced
Summary
After a six‑month pilot that has helped about 42 households and spent roughly $21,000 of a $30,000 pool, staff proposed optional voluntary donations and an opt‑in 'round up' feature on utility bills to fund the Utility Customer Assistance Program (UCAP). Council signaled support and staff said IT changes are required to add the options to bills and the payment portal.
City finance staff presented proposed enhancements to the Utility Customer Assistance Program (UCAP) on Thursday after reporting pilot results that helped roughly 42 households and posted about $21,000 in payments from a $30,000 pilot pool.
Interim Deputy Director Andy Alejandro described two optional, customer-facing funding sources: (1) an opt‑in voluntary donation option on online bill payments (one‑time or recurring) with funds restricted to UCAP, and (2) an opt‑in rounding program that lets customers round their utility bill to the nearest dollar with the cents contributed to UCAP. Alejandro said both are voluntary, that IT/billing modifications will be needed to place choices on the printed bill and online portal, and that staff recommends implementing both to extend UCAP beyond the pilot’s allocated funds.
Council members supported the concepts and asked about technical costs and implementation timing. Staff said IT will need to update billing templates and payment pages, but that operational design is straightforward. Alejandro said if council authorizes the change, the earliest the options could appear on customer bills is the next billing cycle after IT completes the updates.
The pilot showed significant near‑term demand for assistance as the city moved into high summer consumption; council members urged broad outreach and transparency so residents understand that donations are optional and that UCAP funds are restricted to qualifying utility‑assistance cases.
