Agenda Packets - 1989/09/05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 !MEMO TO: Mayor and City Council `4T``'✓� FROM: Don Brager, Finance Director -Treasurer DATE: August 16, 1989 SUBJECT: UTILITY BILLS I have been informed that Councilmember Quick has received some complaints that our utility bills are difficult to understand. I feel it may be appropriate to review the billing format and the reasons it was chosen. Prior to billing a postcard is sent to utility customers requesting that they read their meter and send the reading to Us. The instructions state that an estimated bill will be sent if the card is not returned in ter. days. Hear the portion of the card where the meter reading is to be recorded is printed the message, "Return Card by July 6 to Avoid $5.00 Est. Charge". The estimation charge is intended to encourage the customer to read the meter and return the card to us. A lot of additional handlina is involved when an estimate is taken. The additional handling is not making the estimated billing, the computer does that based on past usage. The additional handling is explaining to the customer, who believes the estimate to be too high, why and how the estimate was made. The most difficult situation is explaining a billing in a quarter subsequent to that in which an estimate was made. Usually what happends is this: An estimated billing is sent for a quarter in which the customer has used more water than their average usage. The estimated billing is for average usage and the customer has thus been under billed. The next quarter the customer reads the meter. The billing is the sum of the current quarter's usage plus the difference between the previous quarter's actual usage and estimated usage. At times that can be an unusually large bill for the customer. Staff greatly prefers customers to read their meter so their billings reflect their actual usage. A postcard billing is sent to all utility customers. A postcard billing was chosen because of cost savings associated with postcards over placing the bill in an envelope. The cost savings are a result of the following: 1. Staff time is saved by not having to place bills in an envelope. 2. Postcards are less expensive than a bill and an envelope. 3. Less wear and tear on postage machine because envelopes must be sealed. 4. Postage for a postcard is $.08 less for each piece than sending envelopes. We send 2,970 bills each quarter. A savings of $237.60 each quarter and $950.40 each year is realized.