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2021-04-15 CITIZENS UTILITY BILLING REVIEW AD HOC ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes April 15, 2021 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITIZENS UTILITY BILLING REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, HELD ON THURSDAY, April 15, 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 Vice Chair Hewitt called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. ROLL CALL AND CERTIFICATION OF QUORUM; Mayor Kevin Cole Vice-Chairman Denise Hewitt Committee Member Jimmy Davis Committee Member Ralph King Committee Member Julie Ward Committee Member Jennifer Sheffield Director of Communications Joshua Lee Chief Financial Officer Amy Johnson Deputy Director of Finance Kristen Wooley Budget Officer Eric Roche Utility Billing Manager Nancy Massey Executive Assistant Melanie Lawson Utility Billing Assistant Manager Dara Eng CONSENT AGENDA; I. Approval of March 15, 2021 Minutes: Vice-Chairman Denise Hewitt Upon motion by Chairman Julie Ward, seconded by Committee Member Patrick O’Day, after full discussion and the question being put to the Committee, the Advisory Committee voted unanimously to approve minutes for March 15, 2021. II. Comments from Mayor Cole; Mayor Cole discussed the expectation for the decision to be made on the 32/30 Plan to present to Council. Mayor Cole reiterated the Committee’s opportunity to discuss meter and infrastructure, adding all questions, concerns and requested data by staff should be directed through the normal channels. III. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action; Initial recommendations were presented at the February 22, 2021 Council Meeting. 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 Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes April 15, 2021 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; (Completed; Further discussion as needed) 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. V. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action (Time permitting); a. Recommendation 6; Consider alternatives to the 32-30 Plan. Vice-Chairman recognized Committee Member Jimmy Davis who reviewed and presented the 32/30 Alternative Financial summary. The committee recommends moving away from the 32/30 at the end of May 2021 and to calculate the amount each person owes for the current time. Mr. Davis also offered assistance for Utility Billing staff to determine separating accounts into groups for specific calculated billing. Ms. Massey inquired on Mr. Davis’ financial recommendations and provided details of the billing process such as the difference of billed dates, read dates and usages. Discussion ensued. Mr. King expressed support to Mr. Davis on the recommendation to end the 32/30 plan and consider separating accounts into groups to correctly bill each account for responsible usages and base charges. Vice-Chairman discussed the timing process of when requested information from the Committee are presented. The Committee discussed the end date of the Advisory Committee expected as of the end of June 2021 and expressed the urgency for reports to be presented. Ms. Massey advised Vice-Chairman Hewitt to communicate with the Mayor on the timely process expectations and requests, along with recommendations for any changes to the 32/30 Plan. Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes April 15, 2021 Vice-Chairman recognized Committee Member Ralph King who reviewed and presented the Water Meter Management Recommendations. Mr. King stated the current meter technology and data management can potentially have a small number of accounts to have errors – both high and low. Mr. King also provided steps of communicating meter failures and process to correct the issues. 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. Vice-Chairman Hewitt moved the continued discussion on the Raftelis’ report for the Advisory Committee meeting to be held on Thursday, April 25, 2021 at 4 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 6:03 p.m.