Loading...
2021-02-25 CITIZENS UTILITY BILLING REVIEW AD HOC ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes February 25, 2021 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITIZENS UTILITY BILLING REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, HELD ON THURSDAY, February 25, 2021, VIA TELEPHONE/VIDEO CONFERENCE AT 4:00 P.M. Residents may watch this meeting online within 72 hours post meeting at: https://www.pearlandtx.gov/departments/water-billing/utility-billing-advisory-committee CALL TO ORDER Chairman Saboe called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. ROLL CALL AND CERTIFICATION OF QUORUM; Mayor Kevin Cole Chairman Steve Saboe Committee Member Jimmy Davis Committee Member Denise Hewitt Committee Member Ralph King Committee Member Julie Ward Committee Member Patrick O’Day Committee Member Jennifer Sheffield Committee Member Mark Smith Raftelis Consultant Josh Rauch Raftelis Consultant Seth Garrison City Attorney Darrin Coker Chief Information Officer Daniel McGhinnis Director of Communications Joshua Lee Director of Engineering Robert Upton & Capital Projects Interim Finance Director John McCarter HR Assistant Director LaRae James Utility Billing Manager Nancy Massey Executive Assistant Melanie Lawson Utility Billing Assistant Manager Dara Eng CONSENT AGENDA; I. Approval of February 9, 2021 Minutes: Chairman Stephen Saboe Upon motion by Committee Member Ralph King, seconded by Committee Member Denise Hewitt, after full discussion and the question being put to the Committee, the Advisory Committee voted unanimously to approve the minutes of February 9, 2021. II. Comments from Mayor Cole; Mayor Cole recognized Darrin Coker who presented to and reviewed with the Advisory Committee the Code of Conduct for Boards and Commission Members. Mr. Coker discussed the following items listed on the Code of Conduct: a. Integrity and Honesty Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes February 25, 2021 b. Confidentiality c. Fairness and Accountability d. Respect e. Communication Vice-Chairman Denise Hewitt and Committee Member Jimmy Davis expressed their concerns on the interpretation of the Code of Conduct. Committee Member Patrick O’Day inquired on clarification of the confidentiality policy. Discussion ensued. Mr. Darrin Coker addressed all concerns and questions brought by the Advisory Committee. III. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action; Chairman Saboe inquired on the status of the III.A Committee's recommendations from the Raftelis report to be discussed by the Council. Mr. McCarter confirmed the Committee's recommendations were enclosed with Council's packet dated February 22, 2021. There was no decision made on this item. a. Agreed, already underway i. Recommendation 1: Foster a culture of engagement and continuous improvement ii. Recommendation 2: Establish formal performance measures to track service delivery iii. Recommendation 3: Review and update written standard operating procedures (SOPs) regularly. iv. Recommendation 4: Develop an enhanced training program. v. Recommendation 7: Synchronize meter reading and billing cycles vi. Recommendation 13: Adjust staffing to reflect short-term needs and prepare for AMI implementation. vii. Recommendation 15: Create an inclusive AMI Implementation Team b. Agreed, with caveats; There was no discussion or decision made on this item. i. Recommendation 5: Improve external communication plans for meter-to- cash activities. ii. Recommendation 8: Implement a streamlined meter-to-cash process. iii. Recommendation 11: Create designated morning and afternoon call- takers to streamline CSR workload. iv. Recommendation 16: Continue engaging Tyler Technologies to resolve inefficiencies and errors in New World. c. No Opinion Put Forth; There was no discussion or decision made on this item. i. Recommendation 9: Reorder billing cycles ii. Recommendation 12: Transition to a centralized staffing structure over time. IV. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action; There was no discussion or decision made on this item. a. Disagree i. Recommendation 10: Enhance delinquent account communications ii. Recommendation 14: Pilot a 4-10 schedule for meter-to-cash staff. b. No Opinion Put Forth i. Recommendation 6: Consider alternative options to the 32-30 Plan. Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes February 25, 2021 V. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action (Time permitting); a. AMI – Overview of the AMI project. Mr. Robert Upton presented to and reviewed with the Advisory Committee the Advanced Meter Infrastructure PowerPoint. Chairman Saboe inquired on the action plan to inform residents the information and advantages of the AMI process. Ms. Nancy Massey detailed the AMI system training is underway to educate staff to assist customers through the transition. Ms. Massey stated the purpose of the training is to provide staff with full knowledge of the system to be able to explain and guide customers to understanding the benefits of AMI. Discussion ensued. VI. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action: Information requests, set next meeting goals, date/time and agenda. a. Information requests from the Committee may require external or extraordinary resources, with related costs; discuss process for Council / staff review and approval of these resources. Chairman Saboe moved the continued discussion on the Raftelis’ report for the Advisory Committee meeting to be held on Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 4 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 6:12 p.m.