1992 CC MIN Jul 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Manager Lewis related that staff has been working very diligently to activate a 30 -day billing conversion as directed by Council. He called upon Finance Director Acevedo for details. Mr. Acevedo reported on the suggestion to divide the services currently billed every two months into monthly billing, After study, it was determined that this system would not help the customer with high electricity demand. The change would require major computer programming changes which cannot be accomplished with the present computer capacity. Realizing City Council's effort to improve customer service because of rate increases, Mr. Acevedo proposed continuing the two-month billing cycle with the option to make payments, Those customers desirous of paying their utility bill in full are encouraged to do so. Presently, customers must make complete payment within 39 days of the billing date before shut-off. Mr, Bob Bracken, Substation Superintendent, explained how the proposed plan would allow the customer to make one-half, or more, of the payment within 35 days of the billing before shut-off. The customer would receive a bill for the second installment approximately 25 days after the first billing. Mayor Gonzales underscored that before applying for this payment option, a customer must have a paid -off account. This plan allows flexibility for the customer. Finance Director Acevedo suggested conducting a survey, through billing, to determine what percentage of users would use the payment plan, To implement a new, streamlined billing plan, there is a need to replace an obsolete computer system to accommodate the additional data and work processing load associated with the change in the billing cycle. It is anticipated that with a new computer there will an increase in computer speed and capacity to handle a large increase in the number of bills generated, payments processed and record storage. Data Processing will need authorization to implement the programming changes necessary for Monthly Utilities Billing. A new bill design will be necessary to display the installment payment configuration. The new bill will be printed in house on a laser printer and can be customized to impart different messages to the customers. Finance Department will need two additional Customer Service Representatives, plus necessary office equipment, to handle the increased number of customer inquiries, billings and payments processed. Electric Department will require approval of Customer Service Policy changes pertaining to the Monthly Utilities Billing System. One additional Customer Service Representative will be needed to handle the anticipated increase in fieldwork generated by this conversion. No additional meter readers will be required. An intensive marketing campaign is planned to provide current information to the customers via brochures, press releases, billing and community newsletter - a blitz media campaign. 5