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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-15 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, March 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-bill i nq-advisory-committee CALL TO ORDER Chairman Saboe called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. ROLL CALL AND CERTIFICATION OF QUORUM; Mayor Kevin Cole Chairman Steve Saboe Vice -Chairman Denise Hewitt Committee Member Jimmy Davis Committee Member Ralph King Committee Member Julie Ward Committee Member Jennifer Sheffield Committee Member Mark Smith Raftelis Consultant Josh Rauch Director of Communications Joshua Lee Chief Information Officer Daniel McGhinnis Deputy Director of Finance Kristen Wooley HR Assistant Director LaRae James Budget Officer Eric Roche Utility Billing Manager Nancy Massey Executive Assistant Melanie Lawson Utility Billing Assistant Manager Dara Eng Staff Analyst Khoa Nguyen CONSENT AGENDA; I. Approval of March 8, 2021 & March 11, 2021 Minutes: Chairman Stephen Saboe Upon motion by Chairman Steve Saboe, seconded by Committee Member Julie Ward, after full discussion and the question being put to the Committee, the Advisory Committee voted unanimously to approve minutes for March 8, 2021 and March 11, 2021. II. Comments from Mayor Cole; There was no discussion. III. Input, Discussion, and Possible Action; Initial recommendations were presented at the February 22, 2021 Council Meeting. a. Agreed, already underway Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular March 16, 2021 Meeting Minutes i. Recommendation 1: improvement ii. Recommendation 2: service delivery iii. Recommendation 3: Foster a culture of engagement and continuous Establish formal performance measures to track 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. b. Budget/Financial presentation — Eric Roche Vice -Chairman Hewitt recognized Eric Roche who presented to and reviewed with the Committee the 32/30 and Unbilled Arrearage. Committee Member Jimmy Davis asked if Committee could view the meter read files. Ms. Massey stated the meter read files contain confidential information. Mr. Davis reminded staff under the Code of Conduct the Committee are authorized to review reports even with confidential information. Discussion ensued. Committee Ralph King and Jimmy Davis inquired on budget impacts from latency in billing. c. Section 30 Ordinances presented to Council on March 1, 2021- Nancy Massey Vice -Chairman Hewitt recognized Nancy Massey who presented to and reviewed with the Committee Section 30 Ordinances presented to Council on March 1, 2021. Committee Member Jimmy Davis requested to review Section 30-46 Ordinance for Testing of Meters and inquired if Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular March 16, 2021 Meeting Minutes customers could watch the meters tested by third party. Mayor Cole agreed the option should be available and stated staff will look into it. In addition, Committee Member Jimmy Davis asked for the verbiage in the Ordinance for Section 30-46 to be updated to include viewing of testing. Discussion ensued. No decision was made. 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 25, 2021 at 4 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m. Utility Billing Advisory Committee Regular March 16, 2021 Meeting Minutes