Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance report: staff says billing backlog from new system is catching up; CITI rollout planned
Summary
Finance officer Tucker Williams reported improved revenue as billing catch-up flows through after a March system change; staff said missed April/May bills are being corrected, customers' on-time histories will be reinstated where appropriate, and a CITI customer system is expected to go live by Aug. 31.
At the meeting, the utility’s finance officer (identified in the transcript as Tucker Williams) presented financial figures and answered board questions about billing disruptions. Williams reported sewers at '310,000' and stated 'total service revenue for the year at 18.04' (the transcript did not specify currency units for every figure). He reported June expenses of '2,500,000' and year-to-date expenses of '21,400,000', other income of '4,300,000' and net profit given as '1.01' (units as spoken in the meeting). (Speaker: Tucker Williams)
Board members and staff discussed billing problems tied to a new billing system rolled out in March. Staff said some April and May bills did not go out on schedule; the resulting catch-up is now showing in improved service-revenue figures. Staff said customers who had established histories of paying on time should have their records reinstated and asked board members to provide names of affected customers so staff can correct specific accounts. (Speakers: Finance officer; Utilities director)
Staff also provided a staffing update: several internal transfers were described (meter to electric, electric to water), open positions remain in electric and meter departments, and a utility plant employee named Terry is retiring at the end of the week; Daniel Brewer was named to take the plant-manager role and the administration will fill Brewer’s prior position. (Speakers: Utilities director)
Finally, staff reiterated plans to roll out a new customer information system (CITI) by Aug. 31 to provide direct customer contact and reduce reliance on ad-hoc social posts; staff cautioned there will be training and initial bugs to work through. (Speakers: Communications director; Utilities director)
Why it matters: billing-catch-up affects cash flow and customer records; the new customer information system is intended to improve communications and reduce manual corrections. Board members asked staff to follow up on named customer accounts and to return with reconciled fiscal figures and a timeline for the CITI rollout.
