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Gold Hill staff report billing-system glitch, post notices for roughly $30,000 in overdue utility bills
Summary
City staff told the council a third-party billing service failed to upload monthly PDFs, creating online-billing errors; staff posted notices on about 120 accounts more than 60 days past due, representing over $30,000, and said they are exploring in-house printing, postcards and payment plans to avoid shutoffs.
City staff reported Feb. 11 that the city's third-party billing vendor failed to upload bill PDFs to the online portal, producing display errors and prompting staff to reprint and hand-deliver notices.
The city posted flyer notices for accounts more than 60 days past due; staff said roughly 120 homes had balances totaling more than $30,000. Officials said they are working to offer payment plans and to avoid shutoffs while also looking at printing alternatives, including bringing billing back in-house or switching to postcards to reduce costs and speed delivery.
The council heard that approximately 230 of 570 accounts are paperless (almost 50 percent) and that the city's financial software and chart-of-accounts reconciliation is an ongoing project tied to the upcoming budget work. Staff said they are auditing the billing process and contacting the third-party vendor for a fix.
The council asked staff to evaluate printing and mailing options, maintain customer access to payment methods and provide updates to council once the issue is resolved.
Mayor Palmer and the city manager discussed the need for transparent reporting and tighter controls prior to any expanded electronic payments.
Staff estimated the total of outstanding unpaid utility bills and described immediate next steps: reprint affected bills, offer payment-plan options, and consider different mailing formats to lower costs and accelerate delivery.
