Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-09 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 TUESDAY, February 9, 2021, VIA TELEPHONE/VIDEO CONFERENCE AT 4:00 P.M. 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 Director of Communications Joshua Lee Chief Information Officer Daniel McGhinnis Interim Finance Director John McCarter Utility Billing Manager Nancy Massey Executive Assistant Melanie Lawson Utility Billing Assistant Manager Dara Eng CONSENT AGENDA; I. Approval of February 1, 2021 Minutes: Chairman Stephen Saboe Upon motion by Committee Member Jennifer Sheffield, 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 the minutes of February 4, 2021. II. Comments from Mayor Cole; Mayor Cole discussed the expectations of the Advisory Committee in assistance with recommendations from the Raftelis Report. III. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action; There was no discussion or 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; 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. Vice -Chairman Denise Hewitt recognized Mr. John McCarter who presented to and reviewed recommendation 6 on the Raftelis report. In response to the alternatives provided from the Raftelis' report, Committee Member Ralph King questioned Mr. Daniel McGhinnis if it was possible to export the balances accrued from billing latency and import the information on a separate software? Mr. McGhinnis advised the Committee the request would need to be consulted with New World Technologies. Discussion ensued. After further discussion, the Advisory Committee tabled the item and requested staff to prepare and present the following items in the next upcoming meetings: • Total amount for year-end accrual • Amount of loss Revenue • Details of pros/cons of 32/30 options • SOP of unbilled calculations • # of 3b as non -base, billed at the lowest tier • Unbilled calculations performed by Raftelis • The amount the City can absorb as a loss with no effects • Liability insurance to cover loss update Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular February 10, 2021 Meeting Minutes V. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action (Time permitting): There was no discussion or decision made on this item. 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 Monday, February 15, 2021 at 4 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 5:57 p.m. Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular February 10, 2021 Meeting Minutes