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Council hears account of resident’s water cutoff and problems with PGMS payment portal
Summary
Mayor Harvey described a resident whose payment was misrouted on the PGMS portal to 'Elliot Ranch', causing a water disconnection; the council discussed vendor listing changes, alternative payment methods, and charging practices for reconnection.
Mayor Harvey recounted a resident’s recent water cutoff tied to a payment-routing error on the third-party billing portal PGMS. "We had a resident that got her water cut off, and she filed a complaint with the PUC," he said, adding that when the resident attempted to pay online the portal listed utility options that did not include the city and the payment was credited to "Elliot Ranch." Harvey said PGMS later restored service after he contacted them.
Harvey told the council he called PGMS and was told the vendor preferred not to list all the systems it manages. He recommended the city push PGMS to either list all managed utilities or remove the off‑city options to prevent misapplied payments. "You need to talk to Patrick who owns it and either take them all off or put them all on there," he said. He also urged residents to pay by check or direct deposit to avoid portal fees and recounted that the city charges $50 to disconnect and $50 to reconnect but currently vendors charge $100 (a $50 reconnection fee beyond what the city tariff specifies).
Councilmembers did not adopt a formal policy at the meeting, but the exchange prompted council direction to follow up with PGMS about the portal listings and with staff on the city’s reconnection fee policy.
