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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-01 CITIZENS UTILITY BILLING REVIEW AD HOC ADVISORY COMMITEE MEETING MINUTESMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITIZENS UTILITY BILLING REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, HELD ON THURSDAY, February 1, 2021, VIA TELEPHONE/VIDEO CONFERENCE AT 4:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Cole called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. ROLL CALL AND CERTIFICATION OF QUORUM; Mayor Kevin Cole Chairman Steve Saboe Committee Member Jimmie 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 Director of Communications Joshua Lee Chief Information Officer Daniel McGhinnis Interim Finance Director John McCarter Budget Officer Eric Roche Utility Billing Manager Nancy Massey Utility Billing Assistant Manager Dara Eng Finance Analyst Khoa Nguyen CONSENT AGENDA; I. Presentation: Utility Billing Dashboard & Future Data Analytics Including Quantification of Outlier Billings; Chairman Steve Saboe recognized Eric Roche who presented to and reviewed the Utility Billing analysis. II. Approval of January 21, 2021 Minutes; The Advisory Committee reviewed the minutes of the meeting held on January 21, 2021. Upon motion by Committee Member Jimmie Davis, 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 January 21, 2021. Committee member Denise Hewitt discussed having minutes edited and completed by the Advisory Committee for the purpose of each member's ability to add an appendix, decision log or amendments at any time before posting. Chairman Saboe agreed and instructed Ms. Eng to share the responsibility and access to the minutes with the committee. III. Input and Discussion: Staff Response to Raftelis' Report Recommendations; Committee Member Denise Hewitt presented Raftelis's recommendation 1 on culture engagement and continuous improvement. Discussion ensued. Chairman Saboe moved the discussion of the Raftelis' report to next Advisory Committee meeting to be held on Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 4 p.m. 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 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 i. Recommendation 9: Reorder billing cycles ii. Recommendation 12: Transition to a centralized staffing structure over time. IV. Input and Discussion: Committee Collaboration Procedure; Chairman Saboe recognized Ms. Nancy Massey who discussed the Committee Collaboration Procedure. Ms. Massey informed the committee to expect an invitation giving access to a shared folder. The folder will include documents, reports and also give committee members the ability to input their information shared amongst the Advisory Committee. Committee Member Ralph King suggested to have multiple documents to discuss different topics. Ms. Massey assured the Committee she will create a blank document to allow members to add their suggested topics and folders. Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular January 22, 2021 Meeting Minutes V. Input & Discussion: Selection of Vice Chair; Chairman Saboe recommended the Advisory Committee to include multiple roles which will allow all members the opportunity to engage in decision making and success of the Committee. Upon motion by Committee Member Jimmie Davis, seconded by Committee Member Ralph King, after full discussion and the question being put to the Committee, the Advisory Committee voted unanimously to appoint Denise Hewitt as Vice Chair for the Advisory Committee. Chairmen Saboe continued appointing roles and responsibilities of committee members as follows: a. Committee Member Ralph King as Technical Side — in scope, timeline result b. Committee Member Patrick O'Day — Timeline & Results c. Committee Member Julie Ward— Financial ramifications around recommendations VI. Input and Discussion; Chairman Saboe moved the discussion of the Raftelis' report to next Advisory Committee meeting to be held on Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 4 p.m. 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. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 6:43 p.m. Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular January 22, 2021 Meeting Minutes